Closer Than Expected
by peacefulsands
Summary: The Transgenics are trapped inside Terminal City, under siege when Alec falls ill. Is there something more sinister behind his illness? Can he recover? When assistance is offered from an unexpected quarter, can it be trusted? And is there a closer link between the Transgenics and those offering help than anyone yet knows? This story is rated M for references to Manticore torture
1. Chapter 1

**Title : Closer Than Expected**

**Fandom :** Dark Angel/The Avengers/Fantastic Four  
**Characters:** Alec, Max, Mole, Joshua, other Transgenics (some OCs), Steve, Tony, Bruce, other Avengers, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, other Fantastic Four members.  
**Pairing :** eventual Max/Alec, no other non-canon relationships except between OCs

**Rating :** Mature (for some scenes of violence and torture - in the style of Manticore)  
**Word Count :** just under 130,000

**Spoilers :** If you've seen to the end of Dark Angel - this takes place after that. It also takes place mostly after the Avengers movie (2012), although there are a few references to Captain America's discovery and his initial joining of the Avengers. It is also after the two Fantastic Four movies. It doesn't contain any major spoilers for either of them.

**Disclaimer :** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**Chapter 1**

Alec sat in the apartment he was currently sharing with Joshua. Apartment was a very loose term but given that they'd both spent years living on Manticore's terms this was almost bearable. For the minute, Alec was home alone and he was thankful for the respite. He and Joshua had grown accustomed to each other, but without actual military protocols to fall back on, it was easy to end up feeling in need of space and time alone; something Alec had never really had growing up. It was strange in a way to think of needing it so badly now.

He hadn't been out in the world for long, but he'd grown used to things that ordinaries took for granted; space, food choices, entertainment choices. The space at Manticore had been at a premium and the only times he'd had anything resembling space had been during Psy-Ops trips or re-indoctrination. Come to think of it, he'd been almost jealous of Max when he'd seen her solitary cell when he'd been sent in as her breeding partner. Maybe it was because it had been so sparsely experienced in all those years that it had become the thing he relished most after his escape.

Choice of food. It hadn't been that the food at Manticore was so bad. For the most part, there was plenty and it was filling, but it was also boring and predictable – it served its purpose to fuel an army of super soldiers and nothing more. Outside he may well be faced with living in a depression, but at least out there he had some free choice and the option to follow cultural influences, which was something that had taken a while to get used to. Of course, like all the rest of the best that he'd found since Manticore, that too had been stolen from him by his incarceration along with the rest of the Transgenics in Terminal City. Now they were struggling to put food on the table at all. It didn't help. Without sufficient calorific intake, Transgenics became more aggressive, fighting for the 'lion's share' so to speak of what was available; their rational thinking became, well, less rational all round. Alec knew from experiencing both punishments and endurance testing during his time in Manticore that while aggression was one of the first signs a Transgenic was getting enough food to feed their high metabolic rate, it was swiftly followed by impaired planning and difficulty in executing orders, however simple. They became tired and vulnerable. He'd argued with Max (again) over the need to keep the raiding parties reasonably well fed, if they were to stand any chance of them not being caught during raids and any of the supplies they gathered actually returning to TC to be distributed. He wasn't sure that Max really understood just how difficult it was for some of those men to function and to move around outside without blowing either the operation or their cover, it just added all around to the stress. Alec didn't know how to explain it without it looking like he simply wanted more food for his own unit at the expense of others in TC. It wasn't that they as individuals deserved any better treatment than anyone else in Terminal City, it was that they needed to have their wits about them while moving around outside.

Pretty much the only solution he'd come up with so far was to have a regular supply of food that was adequate to feed them all. And that was always going to be easier said than done.

Reaching for the remote control, he changed channel on the small TV he and Joshua had in what passed for a living room. He'd grown to like the mindless mind-numbing trivia that was dispersed at all hours of the day and night through the TV. He'd had access to TVs while at Manticore, thought they were on to something good when he made it far enough up the ranks to gain regular access to the communal lounges where they could watch them. It was only once he was outside that he came to believe that everything he'd watched inside had been chosen specially and censored liberally. There was a whole world of stuff that he had no idea even existed, and he wasn't even thinking about the soft porn channels he could pick up even with this crappy TV.

He flicked through the channels again, finally settling on a news broadcast, with pictures of government and scientific personnel working in Arctic conditions. He felt an unwanted shudder pass down his spine at the thought of the extreme cold and wondered what the government was hoping to achieve in such a desolate area.

"Almost unbelievably, after all this time, it is thought that scientists working in the Frozen North have located a World War Two aircraft of Nazi origin. Initial reports suggest that this may be the final resting place of Captain America. A brave war hero, known worldwide for his daring solo rescue of men trapped behind enemy lines by Hydra forces, it is believed that Captain America, single-handedly stopped the Hydra leader known as Red Skull from carrying out a plan that would have changed not only the direction of the war, but the outcome and the life we lead today. We owe our freedom, to Captain America's brave actions in overcoming the Red Skull and forcing his aircraft down to crash in this desolate and isolated area, preventing what would have been the worst losses on US soil of the war. Although in the aftermath of the war, searches were conducted, no sign was ever found of the late Captain's final resting place until now. If reports are correct, we can expect them to find and free the late Captain's body so that it can be brought home for the proper burial the man, the hero deserves."

Alec snorted, "Fat lot of good a burial at home after this many years will do him."

The reporter continued, "Captain America was one of a kind. A brave, loyal, patriotic citizen of the U.S. in difficult times. The Captain was America's one and only super soldier. A man who was willing to risk his own life, not only on the battlefield but also in the scientist's laboratory to become more than just an ordinary man. Captain America was the prototype super soldier first envisaged by Dr Erskine, a former German citizen who brought his knowledge and research to the US early in the war after seeing firsthand the way in which Hydra and the Nazis wished to use it. He brought it over, developed it further, his aim to provide our country with a way to win the war effort and keep Justice and Freedom in our world. Dr Erskine, working with the creative technological genius of the late Howard Stark created the means to turn an ordinary man into Captain America."

"Yeah, 'cause we all know how much the US loves its super soldiers, how it treasures them and nurtures them and provides for them in their hour of need," Alec said bitterly.

"Unfortunately," the reporter continued, "the Captain America project despite its success was only able to be used once, as Hydra managed to infiltrate the project and destroy the research, killing Dr Erskine in the process. Never again would America see such a pinnacle of achievement in its hour of need."

The image on the screen flicked back to newsreaders in a studio and Alec continued to watch. "In other news tonight, three more Transgenic mutants were found in Seattle tonight. Set upon by mobs of angry Seattle citizens, this modern day blight of society was soon subdued and all three were given the justice they deserved. Popular opinion confirms the belief that the sooner our society can be rid of these scientific freaks the better our world will be, the safer we can sleep in our beds at night."

Tears welled in Alec's eyes as the camera zoomed in on the broken bodies of three more of his Transgenic kin lost to bigotry and unwarranted rage. "Fucking hypocrites," he yelled at the screen, his head roaring with the injustice of a world in which thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money could be spent on retrieving the body of the supposed first super soldier, while his modern day equivalent could be hunted down and killed and the perpetrators of such an atrocity would be lauded with praise and acclaim.

Anger overwhelmed him and he stood up, crossing the room and picking up the small TV and wrenching it from its power socket and hurling it through the window, before turning back to the chair he'd been sitting on, lifting it and swinging it to smash against the wall beside him. On and on he went, smashing everything he could lay his hands on before resorting to just kicking and hitting out at the walls, until he collapsed bloody, broken and exhausted, tears tracking down his cheeks as he fell into an uneasy slumber.

# # #

Joshua was uneasy. He'd left home earlier in the evening, leaving Alec slumped in front of the TV again. He had agreed to attend a meeting of artists and artisans. Most of them had been the so-called 'nomalies from the Manticore basements, experiments that had failed as far as the scientists were concerned, but who were stored so as to be utilized later for further testing. Some had gone crazy, losing their minds, while others had thrown their abilities into creativity. Joshua, between caring for those he could, had always found a way to draw. It wasn't until his time outside in Sandeman's house that he'd discovered a latent talent for painting. It was why he was here now, listening to all the suggestions for how they could improve their surroundings. If this was to be their home for the future, this was what they had to offer to their community. It made sense, Joshua wanted to be involved but there were more important things at stake. He knew that this was a desperate attempt by the people around him to be seen as contributing and earning their place in this new society, but he couldn't help but feel that it still wouldn't be seen as important or relevant by many of their neighbors. Times were hard, food was in too short supply and some of the more hard-line X5s were talking about only feeding people who deserved to be fed. They all faced the prejudice from the outside world, but it didn't mean that some of them weren't faced with it in here as well.

Joshua knew from his own experience that X5s had been trained not only to be superior and to lead but also to fear the 'nomalies. The threat when they were children of being thrown into the basement cells was enough to institutionalize the hatred some of them now bore for the Transhumans. He also knew they could learn to be different, as Alec had done, if only they were willing.

Much as he wanted to be involved in this project, he found it difficult to keep his attention on the discussions as his mind returned again and again to Alec and his concern for his friend. Alec was sinking into depression he was sure of it, becoming intense and even a little irrational in his ways of dealing with other people, particularly Max. Max didn't help matters, Joshua knew that. The two of them were stubborn, Max believing she knew best from her years of being outside and free and Alec believing he knew best from his years of dealing with the Xs and their different triggers. Alec knew what hunger meant from personal experience. Joshua had seen at a distant some of the tests that had been done on the X5s, but Alec was too stubborn, maybe even too proud to tell Max what he knew because she would want to know _how_ he knew and having to admit to some of the torturous things Manticore had done was more than he was willing to do.

Max was too stubborn to believe that Alec knew what he was talking about without him proving it. How little she really understood about Alec's "And then I went to Psy-Ops" or "They tried re-indoctrination", how much he glossed over as if it were a moment of time passing that bore no further thought.

Alec would probably never remember that he and Joshua had met before Max, that more than once when Alec was younger, Joshua had sat outside the gates to his cell as he lay barely conscious inside surrounded by the worst of the mindless to add to his tortures. Joshua would sit through the darkest hours of the night telling him stories in barely more than a hushed whisper that Sandeman had told him first, or humming songs he had heard as a child before his father left, anything he knew to save Alec from sinking into the fear their position engendered. Alec wasn't the only X5 that Joshua had taken pity on, but he was the only one he'd seen since, seen free and known that even if they never remembered, it had been worth it.

The meeting was drawing to a close, a vote was being taken and Joshua cast his vote just wanting a decision to be made so he could make his way home, check on Alec. It didn't take long for them to decide and he was thankful for the good humor among them all, that fact that he got to deal with the easier natured of Terminal City's inhabitants. Democracy was easier when you weren't raised from infancy to lead.

He said his goodnights and made his way out into the dark streets hurrying as much as he could to make his way home.

# # #

As Joshua rounded the corner and came in sight of the building in which he and Alec were living, his eyes were drawn immediately to the TV lying destroyed in the middle of the thoroughfare. He looked up and saw the matching broken window, just as he'd known he would. He was thankful that the two of them had set up their home away from the busiest areas of Terminal City, carving out a few clear rooms in what had once been the office of a gym. Logan had told him that there had been a time when people wanted gyms near their places of work, so they could exercise before going home. The good thing about it meant they had a bathroom each, once Alec had figured out how to get water in again and given that they were surrounded by factories and offices, other areas, more obviously residential, tempted the rest of the Transgenics more.

Joshua liked the quiet, liked the space away from everyone else and it seemed to suit Alec well too. Alec wasn't as sociable as many people believed. Joshua had sometimes wondered whether the continued tests and reindoctrination had broken something inside Alec, making him a little prone to getting lost inside his own thoughts at times. He would put up a front, could act like everything was alright but Joshua had noticed that there was a lot more depth behind the façade than many people gave him credit for.

Alec knew the worst of how X5s could be treated, by the scientists, the military and by each other. Alec also had a core that ran through him of caring and kindness, concern for others. Joshua knew they tried to torture it out of him back at Manticore, then they'd turned his peers on him, calling him weak. Alec, Joshua knew, was anything but weak, but it left him torn between his nature and his upbringing. It was not a dilemma that was easily reconciled, particularly given the changing world he lived in.

Hurriedly, Joshua picked up the TV moving it out of sight, away from where other people's eyes would be drawn to it and then rushed up the stairs to their apartment. He fumbled with the key in the lock and let himself in, looking round for Alec, not sure what he might find. He took the fact that the door was locked as a good sign, hoping it meant that what he found inside was likely to be just Alec. A soft light glowed at the far side of the room and Joshua closed and locked the door behind him beginning his hunt for Alec. Not that it was much of a hunt. The X5 was curled up asleep, crammed into a tight corner between a salvaged cupboard and the wall.

Joshua crossed the room and knelt down beside Alec, taking note of the swollen and bloody knuckles and the dark shadows around Alec's eyes. Keeping just far enough back so as to be out of reach if Alec woke up swinging, Joshua gently called his name. "Alec. Alec, you need to wake up."

Alec stirred, grimacing as he moved his hands before finally opening his eyes. His eyes were sad as they settled on Joshua. "Hey big guy," he greeted gruffly.

Joshua smiled and moved closer, trying to get a hand behind his back to pull him upright. Alec accepted the help, leaning on Joshua once he was upright as they made their way through to the kitchen. "Umm, I guess I should say sorry," Alec muttered. "I kinda busted the TV . . . the window and did some damage to the wall."

Although the words sounded flippant, Joshua knew they were no such thing. "Not worried about things . . . worried about Alec," he said in reply.

Alec snorted, then said derisively, "Well, maybe that's where you're going wrong."

"No. Not wrong. Alec need Joshua's help."

Alec sighed, "Yeah, you're probably right." He looked down at his hands. "I probably can't fix these up so well on my own. If you don't mind. . ."

Joshua sighed. "Alec not understanding. Alec needs help, not with these," he waved at Alec's hands. "But with this," he tapped Alec's forehead with one finger. "Alec getting lost inside. Thinking too much."

"Max would disagree with you on that one," Alec said, tiredly.

"Alec doesn't explain himself very well to Max. Needs to tell her what he knows, not just think she should believe him. Max not like that. Max needs to hear and see the truth. She doesn't know what Alec knows. She didn't see what Alec saw at Manticore, not all of it."

"Well, maybe she should trust me," Alec said, bitterly.

"Alec different. Max different. Neither like other X5s. But Alec he knows other X5s, real Manticore X5s, needs to show Max how they are different." There was a moment's quiet as Joshua worked on cleaning the knuckles of one hand and then covering them before setting the hand on the table and laying an ice pack over them. "Alec need to talk to Max even when he doesn't like what he talks about."

Alec sighed, resignedly, "I'm tired, big guy."

"Not tonight. Tonight, Alec needs to sleep. Talk to Max tomorrow."

# # #

Joshua had stood in the doorway of Alec's room until he finally fell asleep, body relaxing and letting go of its stresses. He sighed as he closed the door, thankful that Alec had fallen asleep before the footsteps that he now heard on the stairs outside. He wondered if he could convince Max that they should go to hers to talk, or if he could claim to be on his way out. The last thing any of them needed was more misunderstandings and he looked at the state of the living room and knew that Max wouldn't see the pain, just the rage and lack of control. She wouldn't understand what had driven Alec to this. Joshua didn't know what the trigger had been, but he knew more of the pain behind it.

He opened the door before she got there and stepped outside. "Oh, Max!" he said, turning from locking the door to bump into her and pretending surprise. "You're here . . . ummm . . . going out . . . ummm. . ." He hoped it would be enough. He didn't really want to lie to her, but if he didn't misunderstanding would pile on misunderstanding until she and Alec couldn't talk at all without arguing. Terminal City's inhabitants didn't have time for that to happen.

"Oh, where are you going to at this time of night, big guy?"

He snuffled a half-laugh, "Uh, fresh air . . . outside. Like being able to move round, not like before."

She looked at him warily, then shrugged and followed him down the stairs. "I'll come with you. You know . . . you still need to be careful, Joshua. Not everyone here is . . ."

"I know," he said sincerely. "I know what some Xs are like, bred and trained for violence. Joshua careful, Joshua stay away from their areas. Still plenty of quiet in Terminal City. Space and room to move."

Max was quiet, walking at his side without difficulty despite the difference in their heights. "Joshua, is everything okay with you and Alec? I mean . . . we could get you a place on your own, you know, if Alec is bringing girls back all the time or something." Joshua could see that her concern for him was genuine, but wasn't sure that he could easily convince her that Alec really wasn't a problem. He wished she could trust Alec more. He could see when she watched him that she liked him, was maybe attracted to him, but all she seemed to concentrate on was the things that Alec had done wrong.

"No, no girls. Just Alec and Joshua, roomies. It's good. Good company. Joshua used to Alec, Alec used to Joshua."

"Okay," she said, "But if that changes. I know what Alec is like, so if it changes, you tell me and I'll make sure we find you somewhere decent."

"No, Max! Max doesn't know Alec, not really. Alec clever, Alec knows about Manticore, about Xs, about hunger . . . Max needs to listen to Alec more," Joshua took the opportunity to try and persuade Max to understand."

"You're saying I don't know about Manticore?"

"You know only little about Manticore. You know about outside world, Alec, he knows about inside world. You should listen, learn from Alec."

She rolled her eyes and he could see her frustration. "Right, sounds like a great idea. What about Alec listening to me and following orders? What about Alec toeing the line of what's best for everyone in Terminal City? He can't come and expect me to give more rations to the raiders at the expense of all the people in here. You can't think that's a reasonable request?"

"Alec knows what he's talking about. Manticore did experiments . . . X5 reactions to not enough food. Alec knows . . . Impaired judgment, slower reactions, hallucinations . . . Can't send people outside, expect them to work extra hard, burn more energy, more adrenaline and do job if have bad reactions. They get caught . . . then no food for anyone, more Transgenics dead, more X5s dead. No X5s, no one who can go outside, no one who knows what outside is like, no one left to blend in. Joshua can't blend in outside. Mole and Luke, same as Joshua. No good to get food."

"Everybody's hungry, Joshua. There isn't enough to go round and every time more people make it in, it's more mouths to feed."

"Priorities. Give them food to get more food. When more food, more X4 and 5 can go out and get still more, then enough for everyone. "

"Would you want to give up food and feed an X5? You think any other Transhuman is going to want to give up food for the X5s?"

Joshua shrugged, "Talk to Mole, won't like it. But he knows. Many Transhumans designed to last longer without food, some made to eat things other than just human food. X5s made to be dependent on food . . . control for ordinaries, keep X5s in line. Big problem, need to find solution quick."

Max ran a hand down her face as she tried to think of a better solution than the one Joshua was suggesting.

"You need sleep. Talk to Alec tomorrow. Go home, little guy."

She smiled at him, her hand resting against his arm. "I don't know that I can do what you're suggesting, but thank you for trying to help. It isn't fair on any of the other X series to prioritize X5s over them. I should talk to Alec, maybe if he'll listen we can figure out a way to solve this. Have you walked enough? Ready to go home and then maybe I can catch Alec tonight-"

"No! No talking to Alec tonight! If Alec home, Alec need sleep! Max needs to go home, not coming into Joshua's home tonight!"

Max was surprised at the vehemence in his tone and found herself backing off, agreeing to go home, acknowledging that she too was tired and needed sleep. Maybe if she did sleep, she would wake refreshed enough for new ideas.

# # #

Steve Rogers wasn't quite sure what to make of this new world he'd woken up in. So much had changed, there was little to make him feel like he should be there. Director Fury gave him a mission. Wanting it didn't come in to it, in the end it was all he had, the only purpose to being there. So he accepted and before long he was being 'integrated' into the world, given a fast track education that made him thankful that the serum had worked on more than just his physical body but had made learning new skills easier too.

Next on the to-do list according to Agent Coulson was meeting the rest of the 'team'. There was a certain emphasis on the word team that made Steve pause and wonder what exactly he was letting himself in for. When he mentioned 'super serum', Coulson tensed, prevaricated before settling on saying that wasn't exactly how the team had come about.

Steve pressed the point, demanding some sort of answer and instead found himself sitting in front of a desk and being told to 'read their files'. After all as Captain, he needed to know his team. So top of the pile was Natasha Romanov and an accompanying list of aliases. Her skills are impressive . . . very impressive, but it was another sign of the times that show how well trained and how much freedom she was given, something he couldn't imagine Peggy ever being given, no matter her strengths and intelligence.

Steve moved on through the pile to Clint Barton, Hawkeye, a long list of former employment and missions accomplished, but no sign of the kind of military background that Steve himself had, and yet again no sign of any experimental additions.

Bruce Banner was the first sign that the world was still trying to recreate something like Dr Erskine's serum. It reminded him, yet again, what a waste Erskine's death was. Seventy years later and the world didn't appear to have successfully repeated what he'd done. Despite all of the advances that Steve saw around him every day and if anything the world was more of a mess than in his childhood. Banner wasn't a soldier but he was a scientist . . . and a barely controllable monster. He wondered how he was supposed to maintain order, make an effective and cohesive team from such disparate personalities. There were still two more files to go and Steve dreaded to think what he'd find inside them.

Thor Odinson. Steve's first thoughts about the unusualness of the name were rapidly overcome as he continued to read and saw 'from the planet Asgard'. Well, if that didn't beat super-soldier serum, he didn't know what did. Reading through the file and seeing some of the 'acclimatization issues' that Thor was having, Steve couldn't help but feel a degree of sympathy. The man, or should he think alien? The man was clearly as out of his depth as Steve himself.

The first thing that struck Steve when he opened the last file was the name. Stark. He hadn't expected that, wasn't prepared to see it. It shook him up even before he started to read. It made sense that Howard would continue to be involved in the research into the serum, although Steve wouldn't have thought he'd have tried it on his son. As he read onward, Steve was struck by how different Antony Stark was to his father. Clearly what his father had started, he had been able to continue and expand, but the descriptions of his behavior were unnerving. For all Howard's brash forthrightness, his son came across as arrogant and foolish, regardless of what his achievements might have been. The biggest surprise though was to discover that far from being a super soldier, Tony Stark was a vigilante, a man who had designed a super powered suit, but was nothing special without it and his money.

Steve's inclination was to dislike him just from what he'd read, but he was a better soldier, a better leader than that, he reminded himself. A piece of paper didn't always convey the whole truth. He needed to give the man the benefit of the doubt . . . at least until he'd had the opportunity to see for himself what kind of man Howard's son was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Alec dragged himself toward the control center for Terminal City with Joshua at his side. Joshua seemed to be intending to stick close no matter how many times Alec told him he was fine. "You don't have to come with me," Alec tried again, meeting Joshua's gaze intently.

"Roomies stick together," Joshua replied earnestly, with his biggest grin.

Alec shook his head and pushed open the door to the usual hubbub of activity. Looking round he knew that trying to explain to Max again with this many people around was not going to be pretty. Joshua had suggested that he try to talk to Mole first, see if Mole understood his thinking and could offer some support in convincing Max that as a short term measure it might work. Alec wasn't accustomed to getting other people to fight his battles, but maybe this time Joshua was right, maybe it wasn't getting them to fight his battles for him, but getting them to stand alongside. Maybe that was what it really meant to be a leader. "Mole first," he said quietly to Joshua as they entered. "I won't talk to Max until later."

"It's a plan," Joshua nodded as he followed Alec in, both of them scanning the room searching for Mole.

"Alec!"

Alec looked at Joshua and shook his head, shrugging before turning to Max. "Hey, Maxie." He began to walk towards her, fought to hide the shudder as her eyes raked over him. He knew she'd seen the state of his hands, even if, thanks to Joshua's ministrations the night before, they didn't look anywhere near as bad as they had.

He sighed as he climbed the steps to join her, before flopping down on to the scavenged couch and saying again, "Hey, Maxie. How's it going?" keeping his voice as nonchalant as he could.

"Have you been fighting?" she asked peremptorily.

"Not exactly . . . sparring, keeping in shape," he answered flippantly, ignoring Joshua's sigh of disapproval as he reached the top of the stairs. "So what new plans and ideas have you got for us, oh fearless leader?"

"Alec, we don't have time for you to be flaky, to waste time and get into fights just for the sake of amusing yourself or whatever it is that you're doing."

He straightened himself up where he was sitting. "I didn't get into a fight with anyone, okay? I've not been wasting time. I've been trying to come up with a viable plan, something that we can actually use to move forward!" He pushed himself up to standing, for an instant looming over her before stepping back to the top of the stairs. "You know what? You don't want me around, that's fine. I don't need to hang around. I can leave you to it, let you sink or swim with the rest of them and see if I care when White takes you all down or you all die of starvation because you wouldn't listen to me. I don't claim to have all the answers, but you won't fucking listen to me at all. I come to you and you won't give anything I say the time of day. Well fine, because I can leave and I will leave. I know how to survive outside." He turned and started back down the stairs.

"Alec, no!" Joshua shouted after him.

"Stop!" Max called, pushing her way past Joshua to run after him. "Alec, don't do this!" She grabbed hold of his arm, ignoring his attempts to shake her off. She distracted him enough that he wasn't looking where he was going and didn't see as Mole stepped in front of him, blocking his exit.

"Going somewhere, smartass?" Mole asked, round his ever present cigar.

Alec sighed and came to a standstill. He ran a shaky hand down his face, trying to compose himself.

Mole looked at him appraisingly, then pulled a chocolate bar from one of his coat pockets and held it out. "Fuck! Eat that and sit down!" he ordered, effortlessly turning Alec back and ushering him across the control center and back to the stairs, forcing Alec up the steps ahead of him. Alec dropped on to the couch, eyes flitting restlessly without settling on any of his companions.

Mole shoved the chocolate bar at him again. "Eat it and stop being so stubborn!"

Max watched uncertain, saw as Alec shakily took the chocolate with a quietly muttered thank you and began to eat. She looked at him closely, took in the dark shadows beneath his eyes, the pallor of his skin and the slight tremor to his hands.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly.

Mole looked at her, surprised. "You don't know? Huh, figures. . . There were a bunch of X5s, ones they saw as potential leaders or solo operatives at Manticore. They were 'concerned' about their potential for escape or overthrow, they needed them to still be able to think independently, but they needed some way to control them, so they took them in and made a few extra little changes to their make-up. They souped them up, made them quicker, more agile, threw in something to increase their mental processing speed, give them faster reflexes and thinking their way round situations when they were on the job . . . And then they threw in the control. They controlled them with a mix of drugs and high calorie food – did it so one or the other would work, but without either, they slow down, they become unreliable." He turned his attention to Alec. "How long has it been since you had enough to keep you stable?"

"Dunno. Just eating rations," Alec said quietly. "Guess since we've been in here."

"You've got fucking more control than most of them would have, kid." Mole looked at him with approval. "Have you found any of the others?"

Alec nodded, "Most of the raiding team – I needed their speed and reactions, but . . ."

"The less you eat, the more likely you are to underperform," he sighed. Looking at Max, he said, "You're going to have to do something about this. . ."

"What can I do? We don't have any extra food to give them more like he suggested."

"He suggested? So he told you they needed more?" Mole gritted out.

"Mole," Alec's voice was still quiet, his hand pressed to his forehead. "Don't. I didn't explain well enough. I didn't tell her about that."

"Look. We need ideas here. Alec, I'll get together another raiding team, take the pressure off of your team and we'll make sure that none of them have this . . . this whatever this is that's happening."

"You need to prioritize. You are giving everyone the same rations, but you need to actually gather info on who's here and what they actually need. You do realize that some of the Transhumans were bred to live on insects and bugs, there's an almost endless supply of those here, yet you give them the same rations as everyone else. Sure they eat normal food and like it, but when it's short and you have a secondary source of food that will meet their needs, that's what they should be eating. You've equally got some of the highest functioning X5s who are barely functioning at all because they are getting neither the drugs that balance their condition nor an adequate food supply to counter it. You need to talk to Luke, he's been keeping a roster of everyone who's registered to live here. "

"I didn't know. I had no idea, Alec!" Max said still hung up on how shaky Alec was. It reminded her of her own battles with seizures.

"There are other Xs with . . . with things that needed drugs . . ." Alec said. "We need to find out what they need."

Joshua settled himself on the arm of the couch closest to Alec, lifting one hand to Alec's forehead for a moment before Alec batted it tiredly away. "Max, the X5s are going to fight this. Not the ones who need this, but the others," Alec tried to explain. "The other series might be easier to talk round but not the X5s."

Mole nodded, "He's probably right, but if you get the majority on side and we give a time scale, it might be easier. If we can show that this is an interim measure and also show that you're putting in strategies to identify and meet the other needs they've got, maybe we'll be able to persuade them peacefully and if not then we'll have to do it by force."

"We can't afford to be fighting our own, Mole," Alec warned.

Luke came in through the door downstairs, calling greetings cheerily as he made his way to the computer bank that he'd set up. "Luke, up here!" Mole called down, acknowledging the younger Transhuman's about turn and dash for the stairs. Reaching the top he looked at Alec and concern was clear. Mole drew his attention away from the X5, by starting to question him. "You keep a roster of everyone who comes here, right?"

Luke's answer was sincere, eager to show his trustworthiness. "Yes, yes, I do, and where they settle so that we can contact them if need be."

"You know what series they are?"

Luke nodded by way of reply.

"Do you know of any medical issues any of them have? Or say, dietary requirements?" Mole persisted with his questions.

Luke faltered, "Erm, no. I, er, I didn't know that you'd want that sort of information. I mean if people were willing to tell me, it wouldn't take long to put the information in, well, not long relatively. I've got some other people working with me now who could do the data entry for stuff like that if I set up the fields."

"It needs to be secure – not just anybody getting this information," Alec advised. "We can't risk the wrong people getting hold of the information and knowing what the weaknesses are."

Joshua nodded, "Alec is right. Bad information in the wrong hands."

Max was quiet, watching the people around her discuss and listen to each other, bouncing their ideas off of each other, supporting and complementing each other's knowledge, scaffolding their thinking to reach higher. This, she reflected, was what she'd wanted when she'd first thought of Terminal City as home, yet it wasn't what she'd given them.

She'd tried to take it all on her own shoulders and dictate their direction. She might be the one with the most experience of the outside world, but listening to them now, she could see their way was better, their way was using each of their military skills to organize and deploy both their resources and their skills to best advantage. It had been so long since she'd been part of a team, worked with the kind of people who understood strategy and planning. She was floundering almost out of her depth alone, yet here, where she hadn't been looking, she could have found all the support she needed.

She looked at Alec. He was listening but he still looked ill. She felt a pang of guilt, he'd tried to talk to her, not like this but he'd tried. He prompted and guided the other people before her, got them each to share their thoughts and pulled them back on track when they strayed from the point. If he'd been like this when he talked to her, she wondered if she'd have made more effort to listen. They needed to find some common ground, some way of talking to each other so the other heard what they needed to say.

She wondered what else Mole knew about what had been done to Alec and the other X5s. She'd taken note of the warning glare Alec had attempted to give Mole and the way Joshua had tried to stop him from going into too much detail. She needed to make sure the other members of Alec's team were okay, because if they were in the same position, she needed to do something about it.

"Alec," she interrupted, "Are the rest of your team ill like this too?" She tried to keep her tone even, non-judgmental, just concerned.

"Not as bad. I - I gave them each a pack of supplies from what we'd brought in, before it was counted. I picked things that would boost their energy, keep them going."

"It's not worked for you," she said softly, coming to sit beside him and resting a hand on his arm.

"I didn't have one. I needed you to be able to trust me, I needed you to see that I was trying to do the right thing and playing by the rules you set. I needed you to believe me and you couldn't believe in me if I was cheating on your rules."

"Shit, Alec," she said softly, feeling the quiver of his muscles below her hand. "I had no idea, you didn't tell me this. I thought you were just meaning that your team would perform better with more food. This isn't what I thought you meant at all."

"We do . . . perform better. Performance increase per . . ." his voice trailed off as if he was struggling to remember what he wanted to say.

Mole huffed out an angry breath. "He needs to eat something more substantial. Who's down there we can trust?" He looked over the balcony to the people working below.

"I've still got some food at my place," Luke said worriedly. "It's only just outside. I could go get him something."

Mole nodded and ushered Luke down the stairs with the admonition to hurry. "What he was going to say was they outperform your average X5 on speed and mental processing by something like an extra twenty percent, but this is the result if they are given too much of a restriction on food. You're not going to get the other X5s to agree quick enough, the others generally. You're going to have to get them enough and then give them rations that no one else knows about. Call it performance related pay."

"But –"

"Look, this is how bad it can get but with most of them, they turn violent first. They can get hallucinations and heaven only knows what else."

"How do you know so much?" she asked Mole, still resting her hand over Alec's, trying to keep any vehemence out of her tone.

"Had my own fair share of tests done. Saw this particular one and its effects a bunch of times. They used it as punishment as well, once they knew how they'd react. They'd shut them in a cell on their own and leave 'em . . . believe me it was never pretty and they lost more than they intended that way."

# # #

Steve wandered the halls of the Stark Tower, wondering what exactly Tony had done with all the masses of space before he and the other Avengers had moved in. The thought of one man rattling around here alone with nothing but a talking house and some rather temperamental robots in his workshop for company was worrying.

Things weren't easy but he felt like he was making progress with the team-building on some levels at least. Natasha and Clint weren't exactly easy but they seemed to understand the concept of chain of command and shared goals. Bruce was quiet, placid even for the most part. He followed orders with only minimal complaint and resistance. When he was Hulk, it was a completely different matter. Steve was working on how to interact with Hulk, orders needed to be simple for him to understand and as for how to minimize the excessive destruction, he really didn't have that one figured at all.

Steve liked Thor. He seemed young and rash at times, but his heart was big and his intention genuine and he was learning to work with the team. He liked him even more for his confusion at the world, his feeling of dislocation, deracination. All of those feelings that Steve recognized and helped him feel relieved, less alone in this strange world. Thor was loud and brash and had a burning enthusiasm for life and parties that Steve would happily sidestep but it was a small price to pay.

Tony.

Tony was the cause of many a headache. Steve held onto the fact that he didn't appear to be the only one who felt that way. Director Fury. Pepper. Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes. Agent Coulson. Steve was pretty sure the list was far more extensive than even he could imagine.

Tony as Iron Man was an asset, a boon that he didn't want to be without. But Tony was reckless, selfish and selfless in and out of the suit. He was a mass of contradictions and Steve didn't know how to get through the barriers to find out the truth and to stop both the selfishness and the extreme selflessness.

It was one thing going into battle to know that you or a colleague might get hurt - even in the worst case scenario, die - but it was something different to watch someone else throw themselves into the line of fire without a thought to whether they could possibly make it out the other side. He had a feeling Bucky or Peggy might have had something to say about that; something about pots and kettles.

Tony didn't seem to understand chain of command or no, that wasn't true, it wasn't that he didn't understand, it was that he didn't think it applied to him, no matter what anyone else said.

And yet at the same time, Steve had begun to rely on Tony. He was a mine of information, shared most of the time willingly, wittily, even affectionately, as if he thought Steve was akin to Dummy or Butterfingers. There were the other times when Tony was harder and more cynical, but over time those seemed to be diminishing. At times Steve was tempted to believe the hard shell was more defensive than actually heartfelt.

He made his way into the den, where he found Thor watching the TV. It was a news channel again, a repeat of something he'd seen earlier and had meant to ask Tony about.

"Steve, my friend, join me," Thor said from his position on the couch. "I do not understand this dilemma that is repeating on the news these last few days. Who are these people to be so hunted? Where do they come from?"

Steve settled into the neighboring armchair and said, "I don't know who they are or where they came from, but they are riling up a lot of people."

"Which side is right? I listen to this and they show some strange looking creatures, the like of which I have never seen in these lands elsewhere. Yet they clearly do exist. Do they come from another land? Another planet? I know not of a planet that has creatures like these, although some bear some semblance to the Ice Giants we know of in Asgard."

"There is a lot of antagonism towards them. I don't really understand it, there seems to be a lot of religious fervor around the antagonism as well. I might ask Tony later. . . I'm sure he'd be able to spread some light on the situation."

"What am I spreading some light on now, Cap?" Tony asked, walking into the room behind them.

"These strange beings that are shown on the television," Thor said.

Tony stepped closer, looking at the TV as Steve turned to look at him. His voice was calm as he said, "Oh them! They're a bunch of ex-military types with a grievance against the world. Public reaction is a bit extreme, but basically they're worried about military types running around without anyone legitimate and loyal to the current cause in charge."

He turned away again without another word, but not before Steve had seen the way he paled, looked sickened by what he saw on the TV and shuddered. He was hiding something in the truth he'd told them, but Steve had no idea what.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Max had managed to convince Alec's team to let her take his place on the next supply run, or at least that was what she had thought they had agreed to. Once she was out there, it became apparent that it wasn't his place she'd taken but a far more protected one. She wondered if that was his doing or whether his team had worked it out on their own. She didn't complain, but instead used the opportunity to watch them in action, to do her best to see how it differed from other X5s she'd seen in operation. They were quick, she couldn't deny that. She didn't realize how quick as they moved in because they were moving at her speed, but once they separated to their individual posts, she saw how quickly they got into position and how intuitive they were when working together.

She strongly suspected that her companion was there as a guard to make sure she was safe and probably also to keep her movements predictable. She didn't complain, there was no point in messing with something that was working, even if she knew she could have done more, been of more use.

She also noticed that on the way back, there was no attempt to take any extra supplies for themselves, so clearly whatever agreement they had with Alec, they weren't assuming it was going to go any further. They weren't taking advantage, she knew that now and they were also clearly being very careful not to broadcast that he had been allowing them an extra portion of rations. She stopped them just short of the final run towards the Terminal City entrance, out of sight or hearing of anyone inside and said, "I know you need an extra ration. Will you take that now?"

Wary eyes looked at her before Alec's second in command, Adam, said, "Extra ration? We don't take . . ."

"You don't take anything you don't need," she interrupted. "I know and I've seen what happens if you don't get it." The team members shared a confused look. "I don't need anybody else in Alec's position. I know he's told you to take extra, stick to that agreement, please."

Adam gave a nod and then turned to the team and said, "You heard the order. You know the agreement." She saw them open the boxes, realized that they took high energy, but not tempting food and that from what she had gleaned so far from Mole, Joshua and the little Alec had been willing to share about it, they were still taking the bare minimum to keep themselves the right side of ending up like Alec.

As they made to seal the boxes again, she said, "Alec will need a portion too. Can you arrange for that?" She saw them exchange another look ahead of taking out another portion. They shared the weight of it between them, concealing it so it was unnoticeable unless someone was looking specifically. They shouldered the supplies and moved back into the formation they'd been travelling in, swiftly breaching the concealed entrance, giving the required passwords and identifying themselves before heading straight to the Terminal City stores.

When everything was safely delivered, Adam asked, "Will there be anything else?"

"Would you report to Alec? Let him know how the run went and ask for his opinion on when the next run should be. If it needs to be before he's fit, let me know and I'll take his place," she finished.

"Yes, ma'am," came the reply before the group slipped away into the darkened streets of Terminal City. For an instant it struck her that they'd been surprisingly agreeable for a group of supposed leaders and solo operatives, but for the moment she decided not to question it. Once Alec was back on form, she would talk to him; get him to explain it to her, before she challenged anyone else.

She needed to build bridges; she needed to do more than just nominally say that she was working with Alec as her second with Mole, Luke and Joshua alongside them. She needed to understand more about the Transgenics who had always lived in Manticore. Joshua and Mole had made it clear that there was a lot she didn't understand, a lot she didn't even know about, including what had happened to the rest of her kind after her unit had escaped. There was a grudging sympathy from Mole for some select members of the X5 series, although his tolerance of them in general was low. He was quick to anger at their superior attitudes and posturing, yet despite that he seemed to positively like Alec, rely on and respect him in a way she had not seen him with anyone else.

Joshua seemed also to know things about Alec which she did not, and the more she thought on it, Joshua had always been quick to forgive his mistakes and his selfishness. It was only now that she began to wonder why that was. She had put it down to naïveté on Joshua's part, but the more she watched, the more she questioned that. Joshua was nowhere near as oblivious to people's motives as she had once thought; every bit as kind and generous though. There were few people he would not give a second chance and it was only now that she was beginning to understand that he knew most of the Manticore residents far better than they knew each other.

They may be free of the rule of Manticore, but really it was Manticore's training and Manticore's rules that they needed to use to survive for the time being and of them all, she was the least informed. She represented what they were aiming for, not where they were at the present time.

# # #

Steve had the team battered and a little bruised and minus Hulk around the dining room table in what they were now calling the Avengers Tower, rather than the Stark Tower. Tony didn't seem worried by the change in terminology. He wanted to discuss the battle while it was still fresh in everyone's mind.

They'd won, they'd done well. For that he was thankful, but . . . He was tired, he wanted to be able to leave this for another time, but he could see the glaring gaps in their operation. They each had weaknesses, or maybe 'weaknesses' was too harsh, but slight flaws that could let the opposition gain an advantage. It was his job as leader to figure out safeguards, whether that meant training to reduce or even better eliminate the weakness or figuring out how they could work together to be stronger.

Natasha and Clint seemed well-suited to support each other, keep an eye on each other's backs and be stronger for it. They trained together well and had a competitive streak that had each of them both doing hours of target practice to outdo the other. Steve didn't want to destroy that already developing unity, rather wanted to strengthen it, and have them aware of how else they could support each other.

He knew that Tony and Thor were both too independent, both too inclined to think for themselves and just act with no thought to whether another team member might be in a better position to act without jeopardizing anyone's safety.

There was also the sheer quantity of destruction that had been left behind. He was torn. He could see Director Fury's point of view when faced with the cost of reconstruction or at least explaining away the costs and he understood that the ordinary people of the city around them couldn't afford to cover the damages that were being caused. On the other hand he could also see his team's point of view, the last thing they needed was to be pussyfooting around worrying about minimizing property damage when one of Loki's minions or Von Doom's creations created destructive havoc and mayhem, risking everyone's life as well as the climbing cost of damages. They needed to get their priorities right; people and lives had to be first. Steve didn't see how that could ever be questioned.

He wasn't sure that there was an answer to the dilemma. He'd tracked the latest melee to see who and where the destruction came from. The relief was that well over half of the damage could be directly attributed to Loki's machines on this occasion and a good portion of that was prior to the Avengers arrival on site. More damage was caused by Hulk, Thor and Tony directly than by himself, Natasha and Clint and the general melee, but one only needed to look at the weapons used by Natasha, Clint and himself to see that they caused less substantial damage to property and also that damage was distinctly less widespread. Unfortunately the same could not be said for Tony's technological equipment in the Iron Man suit, Mjolnir, the possible indiscriminate destructive power of which really didn't bear consideration and Hulk . . . Steve had no idea how he could ever minimize the damage caused by Hulk. Some days he considered himself lucky that Hulk was tearing apart the enemy and not Tony or Thor, given the way the two of them seemed able to rile him up and that was before Clint got started.

The problem was that Director Fury and the public at large did not want this to be a war zone, even when it was, and so they did not want there to be the sort of damage that might actually be forgiven if it was a war zone. People expected the Avengers to rid them of the enemy and allow them to resume their daily lives as if nothing had happened at all and they couldn't do that if they were walking down streets with the kind of damage that was going to necessitate buildings being pulled down.

Steve understood but he wasn't convinced that the demand for less damage was in any way reasonable. He pushed a pencil almost aimlessly back and forth across the page in front of him as he waited for Tony and Clint to stop exclaiming over the wondrous explosions of each of Loki's machines, describing it all yet again in more Technicolor than Steve had need of.

"Can we start?" he pressed, using all his powers of leadership to draw their attention to the matters at hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Alec hadn't asked where Luke had managed to retrieve another TV from, or how Joshua had explained away the need for one. He owed them both for whatever they'd done or said and they weren't the only ones. He didn't know where Mole had got the food from, but Alec was obscenely grateful and just wished he knew of a way to repay them. For the minute though he was making do with sitting in front of the TV and resting.

He hurt and even though he knew it was nothing - nothing but the lingering effects of doing without these last few weeks - it still depressed him. Typical Manticore! They had ensured that the effects lingered. It wasn't just a matter of balancing what he'd been missing from his diet to make the symptoms vanish. No, Manticore had seen to it that didn't happen, instead the pain would continue for the next couple of weeks at least and every one of the X5s had experienced it more than once, to make sure they knew exactly what it felt like. Manticore didn't want the quick fix, they wanted something that would continue to distress and harm him even as the physical was overcome. They wanted something that reminded him he was at their whim. Of course, their scientists had also developed and kept firm control of drugs to balance the condition. Now he would have to make do without.

Mole and Joshua both clearly knew more about his condition than he had expected or even thought possible for someone who hadn't been selected for that particular set of Manticore trials. He wondered if they knew all of the side-effects, figured he probably had the answer to that in their absence. He didn't think Joshua for one would have left him alone for long if he'd had an inkling about the hallucinations or the fact that a high portion of X5s with the condition had committed suicide. He thought again of Ben, wondered if perhaps the same strength of . . . whatever . . . that had kept him from following in Ben's godforsaken footsteps, would keep him from suicide now. Supposedly Ben's psychosis and Alec's lack of was not genetic. There were days when he wondered if Manticore had ever had any idea what they were doing at all.

Alec reached for the remote to change channel on the TV again and wondered if Manticore had ever found Ben's body. They could have revived him . . . he could be out there . . . killing people again. Maybe the voice inside his head that was telling him to leave Terminal City, to get out now and go to fulfill his destiny was his brother. The brother he'd never met could be the one calling him, the one wanting him to leave. He'd be able to get the food he needed and more if he was on the outside. If he wasn't thinking about other people as well as himself, he could focus on what he needed. He was being kept here against his will, they were coercing him into doing their bidding.

It was Logan and his computer tricks, he'd done some subliminal programming; maybe it was coming through the TV or maybe there was someone left out there from Manticore doing it. He flicked the TV off, standing up and backing away from it as if it was reaching out for him. They were coming for him or sending for him and he'd be back inside Manticore and in the basements with the 'nomalies. He backed away, fear growing. He couldn't go back inside, he couldn't face it again, no more Psy-Ops, no more re-indoctrination. No. More. Anything.

He turned to run and found himself running straight into a large solid body. Finding himself caught in long, strong arms he tried to fight his way free. They fell to the floor, his opponent quickly shifting to pin him down as he groaned in pain at the renewed sensations that flooded through his muscles. He didn't know what was happening as the body on top of him, holding him down, slowly eased its grip a fraction so as not to hurt, just enough to keep him in place, calling his name softly. Alec curled in on himself. The assailant maintained his grip, so Alec couldn't get away, but he felt a second much smaller hand, soft against his cheek, through his hair. Mother. This was what mothers did. He relaxed a little, letting the feeling of warmth and care soak inside and push back the voices and the fear. The voice called his name and it was familiar, softer and more concerned than he was used to, less angry.

Memory returned bit by bit. The first thing he remembered was that 'Mother' was a concept he'd only seen on TV, in books. He never had one. He had never been safe, never loved.

He heard the voices around him talking, tried to take in the words that didn't make sense. "What's the matter with him, Joshua?" He wondered who they were talking about.

"Alec in pain, lost, remembering before pain and now pain, before hurts and is confused. No anchor, a ship in a storm."

It sounded like someone was in a bad way. Alec shifted, groaned when his body protested and he felt the hand soothing him to stillness again. He opened his eyes a crack, winced at light from the window but tried to find the source of the hand. Hair was long and dark and he had an image of it swirling, flying out beautifully as its owner let loose with a powerful roundhouse kick, remembered her twisting round in mid-air, 'fighting dirty'. She was more than Manticore. She was chance, opportunity, hope and freedom. "Max?" his voice croaked sorely.

"Hey, Alec," she turned, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. Her eyes were soft, worried. "You with us? Joshua's going to help you sit up, just lean on him. He can take your weight and help."

"Ben?" he croaked. "Where's Ben now?" He felt himself pulled and tugged until he was sitting up, leaning against the wall, propped against a warm, familiar smell. It took a moment or two before he could place it and it hurt too much to turn his head to look. "Joshua?" he said softly.

"Here, Alec," Joshua's voice rumbled deep and safe beside him, one large hand, long claw-like nails rubbing the back of his arm as he relaxed and felt the world drift back into place, into the here and now.

# # #

Steve found the complete hatred that was apparent for the souls inside the area they were calling Terminal City horrifying. He'd never seen anything like it outside war and it didn't make sense, not when these were the men and women who had fought for this country. He flicked the TV off angrily and stood up.

Tony had to have some answers and Steve needed to understand. He stalked angrily down the stairs to Tony's workshop, letting himself in with the code Tony had given him and noting that Jarvis immediately quietened the ear-splitting volume of Tony's music. Not that Tony noticed. Steve paced back and forth for a few minutes trying to quell his anger at the violence and bigotry he'd just witnessed on the news reports and the fact that they weren't being met with horror and shame.

Tony worked on, oblivious and intent on his project. Steve stopped still and watched, eventually dropping onto a chair and letting the tension bleed away as Tony's movements settled him into a normality of sorts. He lost track of how much time passed before Tony suddenly looked at him and said, "Cap? What are you doing there?"

Steve shrugged, then admitted, "I needed to talk to someone and I guess you seemed like the person."

"Who me? Nobody talks to me if they want serious conversation. Jarvis can get Pepper on the line for you or Rhodey. Seriously, even Jarvis would be better. Isn't that right, Jarvis?"

"Indubitably, sir," came Jarvis' reply. "However, perhaps you could benefit from the practice gained in conversation with the good captain, sir." Steve smiled at the AI's retort.

"Huh," Tony sniffed. "I could reprogram you, you know. For that alone you should be nicer to me!" He turned his attention to Steve, perching on his stool and stretching his arms out over his head and cringing as he leaned backwards to get the cricks in his back out. "So, Cap, conversation, huh?" His gaze settled unnervingly on Steve.

Steve looked down at his hands unsure where to start. Tony waited, surprisingly patient.

"Terminal City," Steve said eventually. "Well not it, but the people there. I don't understand what's going on and – and I need to. I'm defending the people of this country and yet I see them . . . the things they are doing to the people trapped inside Terminal City. I don't understand."

Steve didn't fail to notice the change in Tony as he said Terminal City, but Tony didn't refuse to talk about it. He didn't give a blasé answer and brush it off as if it were nothing, rather he seemed to be giving the matter real thought. "The people inside were . . . soldiers." He paused, then added, "But they were never free, they were never outside." He sighed. "You know that after Dr Erskine died, after he created you –"

Steve sighed. "He didn't create me!" he said with a tired frustration.

"Sorry, under the circumstances that's an even worse comment to have made," Tony said drily. "When he 'improved' you, it was part of a bigger plan. A plan to make an army of super soldiers."

Steve nodded, he'd known that. He was just to have been the first of many, but Hydra had put a stop to it and with Erskine's death and the destruction of all his work, he'd been the only one. Tests and experiments, medical reports and analyses; he'd sat through them all and seen as the scientists and medics were foiled at every turn in trying to figure out what Erskine had done.

"That's what they are. A created army of super soldiers, but unlike you, they weren't existing models improved. The scientists started from scratch. They tried to create soldiers that would be perfect in every different scenario they could think of."

"So they're like me then?" Steve asked.

Tony shook his head, his expression sad as he said, "No, not really. They are genetic experimentation gone wild. They mixed human and animal DNA, they tweaked and toyed and shook up everything believing they were gods. Terminal City contains the bulk of what's left of their work. Half of what they've got in there couldn't walk down the street."

Steve glowered, "And Hulk could? Or Ben Grimm? And yet the populace accepts them? So why not these people?"

Tony bit his lip as if unsure, a sight Steve didn't think he'd ever seen. When Tony finally spoke, the words rocked him to the core, "Because they were never people. At best they were lab rats . . . at worst they're genetically engineered killing machines. Why should the public ever accept them?"

Steve felt the anger swirl inside but before he could speak, Tony interrupted, "You don't need to say a word. I didn't say that was my opinion. I just said it was how the public, or more accurately some of the public, see it. And unfortunately that kind of public only see what they're told, what the government and the military want them to see. The military want their soldiers back or dead, whichever it finds most convenient at the time, and so it serves their purpose to have the public outraged at their 'freedom'."

"How? Who?" Steve asked hesitantly, "Who worked on them?"

"Hundreds of different people; scientists, geneticists, military experts." Tony fell silent and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"You?" Steve asked quietly.

"Me! Fuck, no! Never! Never that," he said emphatically, eyes blazing furiously as they settled intently on Steve, who accepted his assertion with an apology. Tony relaxed a little and said, "I'm sorry, it's just . . . not exactly the kind of thing I'd want to be involved with." He took a few deep breaths, before adding bitterly, "No offense, but it's not what Erskine was doing, it's not like you. They created fetuses and changed them. They never intended them to be human. Howard was involved for a while, but even he didn't like what he saw and got out as quick as he could. He never imagined anything like what it was – it's not often I'd defend my father, but I actually believe he really thought they were continuing Erskine's work. When he realized what was really going on, he got out. He's lucky they let him live so long . . ."

"Let him live so long?"

"Yeah, you know he died in a car crash. It might have been real . . . it might have been Obadiah . . . it might have been them. . ." Tony turned away, stalking to another worktop on the other side of the room.

Steve stood to follow him. "Tony?" he said, gently.

"Don't," Tony bit the words off, putting a hand up to stop Steve approaching as he kept himself turned away. "Just don't, okay. Some other time, right? Some other time, I'll find what you need to know, but please, not now."

"Sorry," Steve said quietly as he moved back to his seat and sat down quietly to wait and watch Tony without another word. He didn't know how to breach this wall that Tony had around him; whatever was eating him up he couldn't share. Steve knew that he had caused this flare-up of hurt, not deliberately by any means and that when the initial hurt had passed, Tony would acknowledge that too. In the meantime all he could do was to sit quietly and offer his presence as support and friendship when Tony was ready to accept it. What he couldn't do was walk away and leave Tony to suffer alone, unless Tony told him to go because it was what he needed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Max and Joshua were far more wary about leaving Alec alone for very long. He was improving steadily in terms of his energy and his ability to get around, but there were still the lingering effects on his emotions. Not that he was emotional, it was more that he actually appeared to be detached from everything and everyone, wandering around in a daze, doing whatever the others suggested with none of his usual snark.

The confusion appeared to be diminishing and he had made no further reference to Ben much to their relief. Max hated remembering everything that had happened to Ben, what she'd had to do. It had taken her a long time to accept that Alec wasn't her long lost and ultimately broken brother. He was just another clone who looked like Ben and it wasn't fair to think of them as the same.

Joshua was thankful that Alec didn't seem to be openly thinking about Ben. There was enough weight on the young Transgenic's shoulders without bearing the burden of a brother who couldn't be saved. Joshua knew how that felt. Alec had suffered more than enough already as Manticore searched in him for the flaw that had driven his brother's actions. It couldn't be found there, Joshua was sure of it.

Alec had a steely core of kindness and caring that had led him down paths that were dangerous for himself time and time again. Joshua remembered the time he had found him in the cells after he had tried to save Rachel; broken physically and for a time devastated psychologically, but slowly he had healed and despite all of Manticore's efforts, he had healed sound with the goodness there, just waiting for an opportunity to come forth and blossom in a world where he belonged. Joshua admired him for all that he had survived.

He tried to draw Alec out of his head, talking with him randomly about the events around Terminal City, his own art projects and people that Alec normally interacted with. He didn't seem inclined to go out and see anyone and Joshua wasn't sure that it was doing him any good. He'd had a number of visits from Adam after their raiding runs bringing him supplies, but while Alec had accepted the food and said his thanks, he didn't seem to want to talk. The other X5 seemed to understand and would drop the food and with a quick appraising look over Alec would then nod and leave with nothing more than a "Next time, man." Or maybe, Joshua thought, it was just that he didn't know what to say.

Joshua wanted to believe that there was more to his behavior. He wasn't sure whether it was understanding or just the fact that as an X5 he had no idea how to offer sympathy and support. He knew that they had had any inclination to help someone other than themselves eradicated to prevent camaraderie - and specifically further unit escapes - from occurring.

Units had swapped and changed in an attempt to make them efficient and ruthless, but unable to build the kind of bond that had led to the escape in '99. They were on their own without the ties of comradeship. Joshua knew that, despite the hardships they had suffered, at least the Transhumans had been left to form bonds and friendships. For many of them they were one of a kind, so they didn't all gravitate to 'their own kind'. The higher X series had been more isolated and the X5s ultimately had been bred to think only of themselves and their mission. Their units, when they had them, were assets; equipment to be used, salvaged where possible, but ultimately they, as individuals, and the mission were paramount. Everything depended upon their own performance; food, medical care, the quality of the shelter they'd been given and any other privileges they might have aspired to gain. The goal was always to make sure they achieved their goal whatever the cost.

There was a sudden banging on the door and Joshua's head snapped round. Alec had jerked upright, away from Joshua and defensive. He took stock of his surroundings as the banging began again, this time signaling Joshua to step back. He grabbed a knife on the way to the stairs down to the door and Joshua saw him brace himself before opening the door a crack to see outside.

"It lives!" came Mole's voice from the other side of the door. "So, princess, you gonna let a guy in or just leave me out here in the cold and rain?"

Alec stepped back even as he said quietly, "You're not in the rain. You're sheltered." He pointed upward to the overhang that protected the entryway to the building.

"Figure of speech - thought you'd know that. All those 'common verbal usage' lessons they used to make you all sit through!" Mole stepped inside and followed Alec up the stairs and then looked round appraisingly. "Nice pad, not bad at all. Still like my place better. Ya'll could do with a woman's touch round about."

Joshua snuffled a laugh and Alec just shook his head as he closed the top door.

"Don't close that too quickly. Luke's on his way . . . and Max. You don't want to miss them knocking."

Alec glared at Joshua for a moment, until he saw the confusion on his room mate's face. "You didn't know?" he asked.

Joshua shook his head. Mole snorted, "Nice welcome. Don't blame him. Just got fed up of having meetings without you, so if you're not gonna come to the meetings, we'll bring the meetings to you."

"Why?"

"Hmmm . . . Let me think . . . Military strategy is better considered by more than one discipline? You're the most experienced officer we've got . . . that we're gonna listen to anyway. You've made sense so far, so we may as well stick with the devil we know as break in a new one . . . How many reasons d'ya want?"

"I'm fallible," Alec said bluntly.

"Wow! Really?" Mole snarked back. "Would never have guessed. Not after I saw you shot that day at Jam Pony and beaten up by a girl. Stop coming up with petty excuses. You have a responsibility and you're no longer ill enough to keep avoiding it completely. We're not suggesting you go out on maneuvers or a mission but even you can sit through a boring ol' meeting and come up with a few ideas. Call yourself an X5!" Mole had thrown himself down into the chair Alec had been in before. "So you got any more chairs before everyone else gets here?"

# # #

The others had left eventually and Alec was still perched on the broad window sill where he'd set himself up at the start of the meeting. He'd used the excuse that they didn't have quite enough chairs for everyone and had ignored all of Joshua's offers to go and look through the rest of the building for more. It gave him just a little distance; he wasn't quite part of the circle, like he wasn't quite right, not quite worthy.

He glanced across the room where Ben was lounging against the wall behind where Max had been sitting. Apart from the occasional sneer of disgust, Ben hadn't moved since he'd followed Max in when she arrived. Alec glared and Ben still didn't move. He scrunched his eyes closed and turned his head resolutely back to the window and the world outside. Ben wasn't there. He knew that. Ben was dead, they'd never even met. Barely resisting the urge to tell Ben to leave, Alec stared outside. Forcing his eyes wide, he tried to count the slates on the roof opposite, but between the rain and the tears that tracked from his own eyes, he could barely see the roof, let alone count the slates.

Joshua was seeing the others out and Alec knew it wouldn't be long before Joshua would be back and 'concerned'. He wiped the tears on his cheeks away angrily. This wasn't who he was and Ben wasn't still standing behind him waiting to mock. Alec was fed up of being a liability to the people he cared about, fed up of being the one who got people hurt or worse. He stared listlessly out at the rain falling on the desolate street outside.

.

"I need you to do something," Max said from behind him. He turned sharply, almost losing his balance.

"I thought you'd gone. Joshua was letting everyone out and 'locking up'," he said warily, once he was sure of his balance again.

"I stayed," she said simply. "Like I said, I need you to do something."

He breathed slowly, not looking at her, wondering if she would give up if he didn't respond. Clearly she had no intention of doing any such thing, instead moving closer, blocking him in place so he couldn't get past without moving her out of the way. He looked at her sadly and said quietly, "I can't."

"Really?" she answered shortly. "You don't even know what it is yet!" She tried to smile as if she was just teasing him but was willing to listen.

"Talk to Adam. You can trust him," Alec said softly. "He'll do as you ask."

"No, I need you for this. And seriously, Alec, you need it too. You cannot stay in here like this for the rest of –" she stopped short when he pressed a finger to her lips.

"I know," he said. "I know." He looked out of the window again and took a deep breath, closing his eyes, starting sharply when she said his name again, her hand tugging gently at his arm. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Talk to me, what's going on? Is there something else wrong? Something you haven't told us about?"

"I'll go soon, I promise. I'll leave," he said. "I won't let anyone else get hurt. I'm sorry."

Max looked over her shoulder as Joshua came back into the room, apprehension clearly etched into her features. Joshua shrugged, equally at a loss, but he came over and rested his own hand on Alec's shoulder, he guided him down off the window sill and ushering him into his bedroom, saying, "Alec needs rest now. Busy day, lots of visitors."

Max watched from the doorway as he pushed Alec gently onto the bed and then pulled his sneakers off, admonishing him gently to sleep for a while before backing away, leaving Alec lying staring up at the ceiling, eyes unblinking.

As he left the room, he pulled the door closed before scratching a hand through his long shaggy hair. "Alec not right, lost in own head."

"What do we do?"

"Joshua doesn't know. Mole doesn't know. Maybe Adam?"

Max clutched at the hope that perhaps Adam knew what was happening, why Alec wasn't bouncing back now. "Take care of him," she said before leaving.

# # #

Max made her way through the rain, dashing from the shelter of overhangs to running through deserted buildings, heading towards the street where she knew Adam was staying, in an area popular with the more civilized X5s. She didn't know what to expect as it had been weeks since she'd had time to explore where people were settling between all the myriad tasks Terminal City as a whole needed her to do. She wasn't sure if he lived alone or not, wondered how to even begin to broach this kind of subject with someone who was little more than a stranger to her, a passing acquaintance at best, although she thought he might be more of a friend to Alec. Was he a confidante though?

She was used to talking through things with O.C., but this was different, this wasn't anything OC could help her with. She'd grown close to Joshua told him things she'd never told another Transgenic since Zach, but Joshua was different. Alec was the only X5 she'd ever really confided in, the only X5 she'd ever told the truth about Ben. She paused, suddenly taken aback by just how many times she had told Alec the truth, how many times he'd tried to explain things to her and how difficult he found it, how much he bristled defensively after she'd seen something he had tried to keep hidden. She owed him a lot more than the attitude she'd given him when he told her that his team needed more rations.

She brought a hand up to her mouth in horror at the realization that he'd done this to himself; he would have known going in what he was doing. He'd known but instead of taking his team and running like he could have done, he'd made sure they'd got what they needed and he'd stuck by her rules and shown her what would happen in the only way he really knew how. She wanted to blur all the way back to his place and smack him for doing something so stupid and tell him she was sorry and beg for his forgiveness. She stood quietly for a few minutes before turning back towards Adam's and beginning to run again.

# # #

Max knocked on the door and waited. The building looked in pretty good repair, compared to some areas of Terminal City, but it also looked like some of the work was recent. A female X5 opened the door. She cocked her head to one side as she took in Max. She was taller than Max, blonde and could have passed for an athlete with her muscle tone, but although her features had a certain beauty to them, her expression was cold, hostile. "You wanted something?" she asked crisply.

"I was looking for Adam. Is this where he lives?" Max asked, keeping her tone even, deliberately non-confrontational.

"Depends. What do you want with him?"

Max heard a noise behind the girl and a "Knock it off, Sienna! You know who she is, so take a stab in the dark why she's here and you know she's no threat to your territory!" Adam tugged the girl firmly out of the way and pushed his way outside with a sigh. Pulling the door closed with a firm bang, he tilted his head to the street and began to walk away from the building.

Max followed, quietly grateful when he shortened his stride a little so she could walk alongside without difficulty. "You wanted to speak to me?" he broke the silence when they had turned a corner.

She looked round warily, hoping the rain was keeping everyone else out of hearing range. He noted the movement and said, "Okay, another couple of minutes then."

He guided her across the street and down a narrow alley, checking behind him. Halfway down there was another alley, dirty and cramped and he led her that way. Twenty yards down he stopped and pointed upwards to a walkway that ran between the buildings overhead. He put his hands out as an offer to boost her upwards. She eyed the distance and decided it was better to accept his offer than attempt the leap herself and not make it.

He pushed her upwards without difficulty and she landed neatly on her feet and moved to the side as he leaped up beside her and then ran ahead of her down the walkway and into the loft space of a deserted building. At first glance it was just another dirty and grimy empty space, but then she noticed some boards that could be easily removed, which was exactly what Adam moved to do. She helped, despite having no idea what they were uncovering as he still hadn't said a word. Behind the boards was a door and as they passed through it, the space beyond was clean, light and airy or at least it would be if the rain would let up and the clouds would clear.

It reminded her of the Command Center out of which they ran most of Terminal City's business. He gestured to an armchair that only looked slightly the worse for wear with a little of its stuffing exposed and the pattern worn from all the people who had sat on it over the years. "D'you want something?" he asked, gesturing at a small box and holding up one of the high energy bars."

"No, no thanks," she said. "You . . . er you don't keep those where you're living?"

He gave a bark of laughter. "Not fucking likely. Seriously I have enough trouble with Sienna as it is, without her knowing about this. If she thought I got more than her, then she'd want more too and she wouldn't think twice about telling everybody else about it. Then you'd have real trouble on your hands. We all keep it up here, only we know about it and Alec. Not everyone's got 'friends' like he's got, people who'd understand." The word 'friends' sounded foreign in his mouth as if he wasn't sure what it really meant.

"Yeah, but then some of us needed to have our eyes opened to how important this was to you. I didn't listen when he told me before."

"But you're not punishing us for the insubordination though, are you?"

"No, I'm not and I don't want to make the same mistake twice. I've asked for anyone with concerns and conditions or requirements to come forward and let one of us know. I can't have this happen again. If people need drugs or specific foods or . . . I can't risk what happened to Alec happening to anyone else. . ." she said sincerely.

"Have you had many come forward?" She shook her head. He nodded. "There were others like us, not many more, but I haven't seen or heard of any of them being here, so they're either dead or still on the run." His tone was matter of fact. "There were some of the X series still having seizures last I heard, ones who they hadn't managed to cure completely, so they still had to take medications to control it. I guess we should get some tryptophan in as a safeguard."

"Your –" she paused then said, "condition . . . they controlled it with drugs and food? Is that right?"

He nodded again. "Meant they could feed us like normal X5s, we didn't stand out on missions then. Nobody ever questioned someone taking medications because they were always giving us something like that. We'd be taken once a week and fed higher energy stuff when no one else was around. At Manticore, we knew what to eat, how to control our 'condition' as you call it and food was always readily available unless we were being taught a lesson. No other X series had the time or inclination to pay that much attention to what anyone else was eating. When the opportunity arose, we'd eat with others we knew in the same position, made it even less noticeable. We also learned to eat quickly so that even if we were eating more, we'd finish at the same time as everyone else. Talked less or whatever." He shrugged. "Just a matter of keeping your head down and getting on with whatever they threw at you really."

"Are you getting enough now?"

"Is anybody? Seriously, we can get by on this, so thanks."

"No, I mean it," she said urgently. "I need for your team to be functioning well; everybody's counting on you."

His expression was wry as he looked at her. She looked back, really taking him in for the first time. He was a little taller than Alec, darker hair with a chiseled jaw . . . when he turned he looked like . . . Biggs . . . Alec's friend. He smirked, "Only just noticed? You know there were clones of us all, why be so surprised?"

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what? Only just noticing? Or the fact he was killed by the bastards outside that gate? Seriously, I don't hold you responsible for either. When we got out, we went our separate ways, I tried to be someone different to him, but you know what? He was a good guy, for Manticore, and maybe being like him wasn't so bad."

"He was a good man. You knew him inside?"

"Yeah, we were one of the few pairs they kept intact – bred to work in tandem. Amazing what you can do when you infiltrate a building with your identical twin so while one of you is there and doing something public and obvious, the other can be doing something illicit, so whoever is held responsible they're not going to be looking for you because they were already dealing with you at the time!" He laughed humorlessly. "I hated it, so did he. Anyway that wasn't what you came to me for. I'll need to get back soon so . . . get on with it."

"I'm worried about Alec . . . he doesn't seem to be getting over this like we thought he would."

Adam shrugged and looked away. Max watched him for a minute or two before saying, "You knew he wouldn't just get over this, didn't you?"

"Manticore put in fail safes . . . giving us all that 'extra' speed, processing power, physical stamina . . . they needed a fail safe . . . Do something wrong and you don't get food – it was simple." He didn't seem able to make eye contact with her at all. "It's not the hunger that's the worst." He ran a hand down his face and shuddered. "Have the hallucinations stopped yet? The tremors in his muscles? Can he sleep?"

She looked at him, horrified. Alec hadn't said anything about – The thought stopped short, he'd been talking about Ben, thinking Ben was there. He hadn't mentioned him in the last couple of days. Max shivered at the thought that Alec was seeing Ben, listening to Ben and even worse that in his imagination Ben might tell him what to do. "Would he know they were hallucinations?" she asked tremulously.

Adam stood up and walked away from her to the far side of the room. It was quiet for a while before he said, "He might." He turned back. "Sometimes."

"How long before he'll be well?"

He shook his head and said, "There's no saying he ever will."

"What?" She shot up out of her chair and across the room, grabbing hold of Adam to turn him round and see his face. "What do you mean?"

"Some never recovered. I mean, he did before, but who knows this time." He looked saddened but also slightly distant.

Max slapped him. "Don't say things like that! Don't! He – He can't-" She turned away, trying to regain her composure. Bringing herself back under control she turned back. "Sorry," she muttered, waving at his cheek. He shrugged seemingly unconcerned. "Why did you let him do it?"

"He was my commanding officer – on your orders," Adam said simply. "Not my place to question."

"But did you?"

He looked down again, then nodded. "He said it was the only way to make you understand and . . . we all had the early symptoms, you wouldn't listen so he went against your orders to give us the supplies and then carried on so that you would see why he'd done that."

"Shit!" she said emphatically. "I need to go. I need to go and see just how bad this is." She turned to the door and started to leave.

"Wait!" Adam said. His breathing was ragged as if he was fighting himself to say the next words. "With – With my brother," again the words sounded strange as if he'd never used them much before, "touch helped . . . helped him know what was real."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He was looking away again. "You'll come to Command Center tomorrow?" she asked before leaving.

"Yeah, we'll be there and – and if you need me, I'll be here, not with Sienna."

"Look after yourself," she said softly, stepping closer and reaching out to touch his arm. "You did everything he wanted you to do." She backed away, not sure whether leaving him like that was the right thing to do. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She ducked back out of the hatch and onto the walkway. She leaned over the edge and looked down into the alley below. There was no one around, but the walkway ran the length of the block in the right direction for returning to Alec's and it would save her traipsing through the garbage at ground level, so she turned and headed swiftly down to the end of the block, leaping the distance across the alley to the next walkway with ease and finding the return journey passing much quicker than the earlier one.

# # #

Max left Joshua to his painting and walked quietly into Alec's room. She'd got no answer when she knocked and thought he might be sleeping, but he wasn't. He was still lying on his back, staring at the ceiling just as they'd left him.

"Go away, you can't be here," Alec whispered suddenly. There was a note of desperation to his voice and as he hadn't looked at her, she found it quite unnerving.

"You're not here. You're dead," he whispered, pleading. "Leave me alone."

She felt herself go cold, realizing that he wasn't speaking to her as she had first assumed. She crossed to his side, lowering herself carefully to sit on the bed beside him. Tentatively, she reached a hand out to touch his arm, felt as a violent shudder wracked him. Alec blinked at last and turned his head towards her. "Maxie?"

"Yeah, it's me," she kept her voice quiet, gentle and ran a hand through his hair. He rolled onto his side to face her and she took the quick decision to lie down facing him, remembering Adam's comments about touch helping his brother. She kept one hand on his arm, rubbing softly, surprised at how vulnerable he looked.

"He's not real, Maxie. I know that. He's not here. I'm sorry, I know you told me. I'm sorry," he whispered the words on a faltering breath.

She moved closer, rubbing her hand up and down his arm as she offered reassurances, grateful as he finally relaxed and fell asleep properly. She lay still watching him, allowing her hand to keep up its movement for a while longer as she examined the dark shadows beneath his eyes and wondered what the best thing to do for him was.

# # #

_He floated. Surrounded by darkness. Alone._

_But he wasn't alone. He was here, trapped. Wires, tubes led from his body out of the water to . . . he didn't know where._

_He fought against the urge to react, tried to stay calm. He knew . . ._

_He thrashed, felt himself swallow water and the panic increased. He thrashed again and registered the metal cuffs holding him in place, round his wrists, his upper arms, his ankles, his legs. He tried to twist his head and felt the metal ring there as well. It would come. He knew what was coming. His fingers curled into useless fists, this wasn't something he could fight. There was nothing left that he could fight._

_Pressure in the center of his back came next. Memory seeping in at the edges told him it was always so. Always. Was this his life? Had there ever been anything else?_

_His back arched as the pressure increased forcing the middle of his body upwards. Pain intensified for a moment as the arch was pushed to its limit before finally the cuffs also moved pushing the rest of his body upward as well. Suddenly he was free of the water, gasping for air on instinct as his whole body tingled in the frigid air._

_There was a cold, brittle laugh beside him. "You don't learn, do you? All those claims of X5 intelligence and you just don't learn."_

_He thrashed as if by some sheer desperation he'd finally break free of his bonds. It was futile, as it was always futile, as it had always been futile. This is all he remembered. Was it all he had ever been?_

_"Report, soldier," the voice in the darkness ordered._

_"He sees 493. They know he sees him. I - I worked out why they accept it and are trying to help him - they think it was triggered by food shortage." He can hear the words as they fall from his own lips, voice hoarse and strained, desperate to please as if there was ever going to be a chance of redemption from this dark torment._

_"Really? Do tell me more."_

_"He was part of an experimental group to further enhance some of the X5s. They were even faster and stronger, solo operatives, leaders, higher brain function and so on, but they needed more sustained release carbohydrates in their diets or there were complications, side effects."_

_"Complications? That sounds good. Tell me more about these complications."_

_"Initially, they slow down, some exhibited aggression, hallucinations, physical pain without direct cause, exhaustion. Some collapsed and were irrecoverable, some were pushed to suicide."_

_"Oooh, that does sound exciting. So how's 494 doing with all of this?"_

_"They have increased his food intake and are trying to counter the side effects but he believes he has lingering hallucinations and does seem inclined towards negative thinking, possibly verging on suicidal."_

_"So you're feeding into his delusions. That's fantastic. How many of these enhanced X5s are there? Can you get into anyone else's delusions?"_

_"There is a group of about twelve of them, but the others are not exhibiting any symptoms at this time and . . . and . . ." he fell silent, reluctantly._

_"And..." the voice pressed._

_"And I have only been programmed to access 494," he whispered the admission fearfully._

_The voice alongside him hummed for a long drawn out moment, then said, "And you're doing well on that. I'll have someone else programmed to weaken the others - I need numbers. You come back with the numbers. Is that clear?"_

_"Yes, ma'am. It's clear."_

_"So tell me what else 494 and 452 have been up to?"_

# # #

Steve was sitting at the old walnut desk he had set up as his 'own office space' in the library of the mansion. Surrounded by shelves filled with leather-bound books of ages past, underneath the soft glow of a desk lamp, he was poring over the reports from their last mission. Although he'd known nothing like its opulence at the time outside of the austerity of the public library he'd gone to so often with his mother, it still reminded him of his own era. It was a space away from the hustle and bustle and constant demands of the modern world he lived in now, a space where he did not have to deal with electronic versions of things he'd always known. It was as unthreatening to him as every modern day gadget was to the rest of the team but best of all it was peaceful, quiet and unalluring to the majority of the team.

Reading through the reports was enlightening at times, tedious more often, to get each of the Avengers' own perspectives on what had happened. It made each successive mission easier in a sense, in that he knew better how to deploy his team, how to use each to their own strengths and how to get them to compensate. If only the villains of the piece could be a little more predictable then perhaps he could actually figure out a way to cut down on the damage.

He was tired of sitting through 'board' meetings with Director Fury and other worthy officials from the city and listening to their complaints about damages and repair bills. One particularly obnoxious man had almost pushed him to the limit of his patience and he had barely held back on the temptation to say that it was fine, he and the Avengers wouldn't risk causing any further damage next time by just not bothering to turn up and he could see whether he liked that scenario more.

Fortunately he'd caught the warning tapping of Fury's pen before the words had slipped out. It was if anything the first indication he'd had that Fury, while obviously preferring there to be minimal property damage, didn't actually expect it to happen. The man was a realist after all and when he cut through the obnoxious man's complaints and pointed out the number of civilians rescued and the quick action of the Avengers in bringing the situation under control, Steve had to admit he was grateful.

He'd be even more grateful if Fury could leave him out of the meetings altogether.

Suddenly he became aware of someone watching him and turned to see Tony standing in the doorway. "Hey," he greeted. "Everything alright?"

Tony nodded and stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him. "Everything's perfect," Tony said dryly. "You're being bored out of your mind in meetings with Fury and insufferably pompous city officials and I get to sit through tedious meeting for Stark Industries just to be told that I'm not delivering enough new and exciting technology quick enough because I'm spending too much time 'playing' at being an Avenger!"

"You don't play at being an Avenger," Steve said. "The team needs you."

Tony rolled his eyes, before saying, "Yeah, you know that and I know that but seriously some of those investors must have their heads so far up their own asses . . . Anyway, that wasn't why I came to find you. Enough with the pleasantries as they say. I brought you this." He waved a manila file in Steve's direction, but didn't hand it over. "I found it in Howard's stuff ages ago. Just needed time to find it again for you. Sorry it took so long."

"What is it?" Steve asked, holding out his hand for the file that despite his words, Tony seemed reluctant to actually hand over.

Tony walked across to the window and looked out without relinquishing the file. His voice was dull as he said, "Manticore."

Steve stood up and crossed to stand beside him, taking in the expression on Tony's face, an expression he couldn't quite read. "You didn't do anything, Tony," he said. "Whatever went on there was not your fault."

Tony gave a derisive snort. "If I give you this, then I destroy your belief that we live in a just and decent world, that we're fighting for the good side, the right side."

"No, you don't. I'm not as stupid or as naive as you seem to think. You think during the War, I thought that everyone was the same when I was over there fighting. You think that I believed that the ordinary person on the street wanted a world with Hydra and the Red Skull or Hitler in it. I know the difference."

"Maybe you do," Tony said, dropping the file on to a neighboring table beside the lamp there. "Maybe you do." He turned away and began to walk back towards the door. He stopped again and looked back, "Knowing the truth and being able to make it change, make something better and right . . . You can't necessarily put this right. What they did . . . The way they treated them, the way they . . . You can't just save someone if they don't know they need saving, if they can't understand that everything they've ever known was wrong. There's nothing to build on." He opened the door and left as quiet as he'd come.

# # #

Steve hadn't returned to the desk, but instead had settled himself in the dark leather wing chair by the antique lamp and lifted the file up. It wasn't particularly big, not by comparison with the well-researched files he was becoming used to handling from SHIELD, so putting all thoughts of his other work aside, he turned his focus entirely to Manticore and its brand of super soldiers.

A little over two hours later, Steve closed the file quietly. He understood Tony's anger, shared it and more. He had fought against this kind of cruelty seventy years ago and yet here, now it was happening and even worse it was happening in his own country.

He thought he could see Howard's hand in the work, how easy it was for a man to participate without really understanding what he was doing. Howard Stark had helped build the ground-breaking machinery that had allowed the geneticists to create their soldiers, just as he had done for Erskine. Steve knew that there were different ways of looking at it; that Howard had been a clever and inventive man used by far more cynical and maliciously motivated minds or that he had been a man willing to do anything to be at the forefront of creation, to be known for his achievements, his drive and ingenuity. What he hadn't been was entirely responsible. He hadn't wanted to know what the real implications of his part in the process was actually creating before he'd done his work.

He'd given them their machines and then for a time he had walked away. Or at least that was the assumption that Steve drew from the fact that there was a gap of several years between his initial involvement and his reappearance at Manticore. That gap was only evident from the dates on the papers, there was nothing in the intervening years to suggest he'd had any contact with Manticore or that branch of the military at all.

The next set of papers were schematics again, details and analyses of tests run on 'advanced learning techniques', 'rapid recall', 'realignment of misinterpretation' and other equally ambiguous terms that Steve could only guess at the meaning of until he had reached the last two pages. There he had found a letter from Howard terminating his involvement with the Manticore project; it was vague and said little beyond him having other pressures of projects for other departments, specifically the areas of Weapons Development. On the final page were notes that he could assume outside of Howard himself, only Tony had ever seen, a statement of what he believed his machines were really being used for - Reindoctrination.

It left Steve feeling cold inside, lost and afraid for a world in which one man's work could be turned to such dire and disgusting ends in the name of the greater good. It was everything Erskine had fought against, everything that Hydra had been.

He set the file down on the table beside him and stood up. He moved back to the window and looked out, trying to lose himself for a few moments in the beauty of the scene outside, the real people going about their daily lives without wanting to hurt anyone else, without the bitter taste of selfish aggrandizement. Steve had liked Howard, but he'd recognized some of the man's faults. Reading these papers had only solidified that image more clearly. The Howard Stark he had known was not an intentionally cruel man, but he was a self-centered glory-seeker, a fact which led him down difficult paths, paths that he should have never set foot on.

Steve knew he needed to talk to Tony, needed to make sure that Tony was okay. Tony was not his father; for all his mistakes, for all his faults the one thing he rose above being was his father. Steve knew from the files he had read at the outset, that Tony had changed. Tony had seen first-hand who was using the weapons Stark Industry created and how they were being used and he had changed. He still appeared brash and impetuous, but in reality, he had learned to think about how his creations could and would be used. Despite the popular opinion to the contrary and the extended SHIELD file that implied the contrary, Tony was the far better man.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Alec had still been asleep when Max left the night before and she hoped that he'd stayed that way for at least a few more hours. She had hurried home and actually taken the opportunity to go to bed early herself for once. She was tired. She was feeling the effects of all the weight of responsibility that she was carrying, along with the less than ideal diet.

She'd actually slept for almost six hours before waking, and when she did her first thought was of Alec. She needed to support him; he could get through this. She needed him at her side. He'd held it together at the meeting the previous day at his house although he hadn't participated as much as she'd hoped. At times he'd seemed distracted as if he was watching something. She wondered if maybe he had been, maybe he'd been seeing something that wasn't there.

It didn't change the fact she needed him at her side. He was a high-profile enough X5 to give credence to her leadership. Not everyone was willing to accept her 'rule' and while Mole, Joshua and Luke were good at easing her way with most of the Transhumans, Dalton and Gem, who had stayed with him, and a group of their friends provided support in convincing the X6s to give her the chance to make this work. The X5s though were notoriously difficult to convince. Their higher functions and leadership roles within Manticore's echelons made them for the most part at best reluctant allies and at worst an opposition that they really didn't need. Fighting within their own ranks wasn't going to help their image outside Terminal City but really that was almost the least of their problems when the more aggressive 'front-line' X5 models were ready to tear each other apart for the least perceived slight.

Alec knew better than she did what to expect from them and how to counter their arguments. She knew that, although she'd been reluctant to admit it before. He also knew how to put them to work to divert their energies to more productive uses. She had a feeling that some of the improvements she'd seen down in the areas she walked through to find Adam the previous evening had been at Alec's direction.

She headed for the Command Center with a specific purpose in mind, although she wasn't sure how she was going to achieve it. Walking in she could see both Luke and Mole already there and chatting and so with a quick greeting she headed up to the area she thought of as her office. She wasn't surprised when the two Transhumans followed her moments later.

She was still standing at the edge surveying the area, trying to work out what to do, when Mole reached her. "Looking for something in particular, Hot Stuff?" he asked.

She nodded and gestured the two of them to join her at the table in the center where they had their majority of their planning meetings. It was open enough that anyone could see them, but separate enough that their conversations were unlikely to be overheard. "I need to create some more privacy up here, while not making it look like that's what I'm doing . . . I don't want people thinking I'm hiding something about Terminal City."

"So why the need for more privacy?" Luke asked, frowning.

"Because I'm bringing Alec back to work." Both Transhumans looked surprised as she went on to explain that she needed him, not just for his ideas and knowledge but even more importantly for the added control over the X5s, which both of them could understand. "But if I bring him back, I need him to be able to rest and other people not to know how sick he has been, or he will lose that control and then . . ." She didn't need to put into words the potential disaster that would ensue if they lost that control. "It's that or I elevate Adam to Alec's place but then we can't just put Alec back in charge when he's well again."

"No," Mole said. "Adam's nice enough for an X5 but he's not Alec. Alec's more versatile. He's stronger in both personality and intelligence. Adam was a matched pair, a lot of his training went into working as part of that pair, even when he led teams, he did it as part of a pair."

"His brother?"

Mole nodded, "Yeah. Alec led teams, but he also worked alone and he has been led. He's got a better understanding. Adam could be his second, but he couldn't take his place, not permanently."

Luke seemed to be more interested in looking at their surroundings than in discussing the merits of one X5 over another. Mole poked him, "So, Shrimp, you got something?"

Luke nodded. "Yes, if we moved this bank of computers from there to here, next to the top of the stairs, visibility for the screens would improve for the majority of the day. There are several hours each day where it's currently difficult to see because of the lighting from there. At the same time, it builds somewhat of a barrier between what's going on down there. The sofa could be pushed over there, into the space we'd create by moving the computers and if Alec were there, he would be invisible to downstairs and only if anyone comes up would they see him. We're likely to be around, so if we know he's resting, we can either try to stop people from coming up or we move downstairs to use those computers and so that reduces the likelihood of anyone seeing him further."

"I like your thinking," Mole said approvingly, before sticking his cigar back into his mouth and standing up. "Come on then, unplug what needs unplugging and then we can get it moved," he said gesturing at Luke to start work on the computers while he moved the couch and table without even glancing at Max to see if she approved.

She couldn't really object; they were right, it was a move that made sense, that was explainable and gave the most privacy they were likely to get. She began to move the chairs from the central table ready to help.

# # #

Alec was awake and had made the effort to dress and eat without prompting from Joshua before taking himself back to sit on his perch on the window sill. It was from there that he saw Max running down the street through the rain, dodging the largest of the puddles nimbly. He sighed, certain in his own mind that she wasn't on her way to see Joshua.

"Go away," he muttered under his breath as Ben climbed up to sit beside him on the sill. "I don't need you here while Max is here." Ben just looked at him before turning his attention to Max's approach. "She doesn't need you here," Alec added. "She did what you asked. Don't you think we've hurt her enough already?"

Ben shrugged but didn't move from his spot, instead shifting, as Max vanished as she got closer to the building they were in, to watch Alec as if to evaluate his treatment of Max.

Alec shoved himself off the sill and stalked away, heading for the door so he could go down to let Max inside.

He followed her back up the stairs, hoping that when they walked back into the living room that Ben would have gone, but he hadn't. He was still sitting on the window sill watching and waiting. Alec glared at Ben, as if it would make any difference to his presence in the room, before turning his attention back to Max.

"I thought you'd be busy today. Why come all this way?" he asked

"To make sure you came to Command Central today," she said softly. "I need your help, Alec."

He wouldn't meet her eyes, instead walking past her and over to the window. She followed him quietly, laying a hand gently on his shoulder and sifting her fingers through the ends of his hair. "I know I ask a lot of you. I know you're not fully well yet, but . . ."

"I can't," he said simply.

"Alec, I need you. I've made a few changes and so if you get too tired you can rest for a while. There is no one else I can trust, like I can trust you."

He shook his head. "No." The words were quiet, barely audible over the rain outside. "No, you can't trust us. Not anymore."

"Us? Alec, what do you mean us?"

"Me. I meant to say me. You can't trust me. I let you down. You shouldn't have to save me again. Leave me to the wolves this time."

"Alec? I don't understand what you're saying. What are you talking about?"

"Not everything in life is real. Not everyone can be saved." He shook his head, then settled his gaze on Ben. "Not everyone should be saved," he said again. "There are other X5s out there."

"Yes there are, but no others are respected by Transgenics and Transhumans; no others understand so many among us. I know not everyone will listen to you, but more will listen to _us_, when you and I are working together, when we have Mole and Luke and Joshua with us, when we are united. Mole does not listen to just anyone, but you . . . _you_ he wants to listen to, he wants to debate with and figure out the better way to achieve for us all. _We_ need you, Alec, we can't do this without you."

He glared at Ben, then turned and looked at her. He nodded as he gave up the fight and walked to his room. He came back a moment or two later with a jacket and without another word followed her down the stairs and through the rain-soaked streets to the Command Center.

# # #

Mole looked up as Max came up the stairs in Command Center with Alec treading carefully behind her. "'Bout time you two turned up. I was beginning to think we weren't going to get anything done today at all."

Max frowned at him, but Mole just snorted a half laugh and turned back to the papers he'd been reading. Alec walked past Max, pulled out the chair alongside Mole and said, "So what do you want me to do?"

Mole pushed some of the papers across to Alec. "Thoughts?" he asked.

Alec took a shaky breath and then turned his attention to the papers and began to read. Max watched him for a few long seconds before turning away and moving across to Luke and beginning to talk about some information that he'd managed to track down and also up-to-date information on how many new arrivals there had been to Terminal City. On the upside, more Transgenics had reached some degree of safety and independent living. On the flip side, it meant that yet again there were new mouths to feed.

Luke told her of discussions that he'd had with some of the people working in the main area of the command center and casting one last glance at Alec and Mole, she slipped back down the stairs to talk with the people down there, forcing herself to trust that Mole would make sure that Alec was okay.

Alec had been aware of Max's departure, but he'd not looked up or said anything, knowing that he needed to focus on the task he'd been given. He needed to get his head back in the game and stop being a liability to the people who'd helped him since Manticore had gone. He kept his eyes moving over the page, forcing his brain to process the information before him. It was straightforward enough, he'd done the same thing for years inside, focusing on one given task while simultaneously processing others. He'd never been truly sure how much Manticore understood that talent in some of the X5s, but they'd used it plenty of times to their advantage on infiltration missions, enabling an X5 to actually function at what would appear full and normal capacity in one role, while simultaneously running a secondary thought process to gain information or carry out another task at the same time.

"So, thoughts?" Mole asked about fifteen minutes later.

Alec noticed the chair opposite him had moved silently as he turned his head to look at Mole and that Ben was now sitting and staring at him. Alec turned his focus to Mole and began to put the papers in the space between the two of them. "These should be priority from this pile," Alec said. "Medical supplies, then tools that can be used generally to enable repairs on existing structures and machinery ahead of even creating newer stuff from salvage."

Mole nodded, "Anything else occur to you?"

"Maneuvers . . . X5s need to have something to do or they're either going to make a run for it deciding they can make it on their own," his eyes met Ben's as he spoke and he shuddered before continuing, "or they're going to cause trouble for us. X5s need purpose . . . most of them anyway or they . . . The X6s and 7s need to be kept in training and be set to work. We should create teams and set them areas to work on, tasks to accomplish with designated time scales and standards to be met. Teams should - should. . ." He seemed to struggle for a minute, eyes and thoughts continually drawn back to Ben's silent assessing gaze.

Mole put a hand on his arm and he jerked his focus back to the large Transhuman next to him with a stuttered apology and another full-bodied shudder. Alec saw as Mole's gaze went to where Ben was sitting, saw as Ben's glare hardened and Mole's stayed calm but appraising. "What should the teams do?" Mole asked.

Alec nodded, swallowing harshly, before trying to continue the earlier thought. "Teams should . . . teams should be made up of a mix of series. We need to build a community, right?" There was a nervousness to his words, a lack of the usual confidence. "We need to break down the prejudices between the groups. People are living with their own kind, right? We need - need to . . ." He didn't finish the thought, eyes going back again to Ben and the sneer on his face. "No, we have to break down the separation. We can't keep perpetuating the LIES!"

Mole sighed, knowing that although Alec was right in what he was saying, the younger man wasn't fully focused on the conversation by the way his eyes were returning almost continually to the chair immediately opposite him. Quietly he stood up and walked around the table. He pulled out the chair that Alec had been looking at, wondering how long it would take for the hallucination Alec was having to waver as reality took its place. He sat down on the chair and said, "He gone yet? Did I squash him?"

Alec gave a shaky laugh, drew in a breath and nodded. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Not a problem. You know if you'd told me he was there . . . I could have done it sooner." Alec nodded but wouldn't meet Mole's eyes. "You know whoever it is isn't real, right? You are remembering that?"

Alec gave another quick nod. "Yeah, I know . . . I know that."

"So who is it? Lydecker? Renfro?"

"No - no, not Deck or her. Not them." He shuffled the papers in front of him. "We need to get back on to this."

"Who is it, Alec? Who are you seeing?" Mole was firm, all of his usual banter gone, making it clear that he was expecting an answer and wasn't going to let it drop until he got one. "You know it's just another Manticore control thing, it's not your fault. So who is it?"

Alec bit his lip and took a shuddery breath before whispering, "Ben."

Mole frowned, clearly unsure. "Who's Ben?

As Alec looked up at him, Ben stepped into view behind the Transhuman, a knife in his hand as he reached out to grab Mole's head, the intention to pull it back and expose the vulnerable artery in his neck clear. "No!" Alec said, leaping to his feet, chair falling over behind him and trying to dive across the table to push Mole clear.

Instead Mole stood up too, catching Alec's hands and pulling him closer. "Not real, Alec. He's not real. You know that. Remember it!" Mole stepped out from the table, still pulling Alec towards him, making the X5 step around the corner of the table. Luke had turned to look at them both, knew that Mole was in no real danger of being hurt but still unsure what to do.

"Want me to get Max?" he asked tentatively.

Mole just shook his head, eyes still focused on Alec. He waited calmly until the tension seemed to leave Alec's body and he stumbled. Mole didn't let him fall, shifting his hold to support rather than restrain. "He's gonna be fine. He's not gonna let some pathetic loser tell him what to do. Are you, Alec? You're not gonna let it win. You're not gonna give into Manticore, let Manticore beat you, are you?"

Footsteps on the bottom of the stairs had Alec pulling himself free, fighting to make himself look more presentable, less harried, even as Luke walked across to block the way up the stairs. "Oh, Adam," he greeted, "It's good to see you." He started down the stairs, aiming to re-direct the X5 to the lower area and talk to him away from Alec and Mole. "Max isn't here. She's downstairs somewhere. Come on, let's go find her."

"It's okay," Mole said softly. "Adam can come up."

Luke stepped back and waved the now frowning Adam up the rest of the staircase. "Sorry. Mole says it's okay to come up."

Adam scanned the room before entering, focus drawn to Alec, to his pale features and wary expression. "A'right, man?" he asked. "Still getting the side-effects, huh?"

Alec nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, yeah, but better . . . getting better. Sorry, guys, sorry. Maybe I should go."

"Nope, princess. You're not going anywhere. You still have work to do!" Mole asserted, not unkindly but firm nonetheless. He gave a push that guided Alec back to a chair at the table and put down the other pile of papers in front of Alec, the ones he himself had been reading earlier, then, remaining in position behind Alec, he turned his attention to Adam. "So, you're here to talk about what exactly?" he asked.

Adam pulled his gaze away from Alec. "Details on what rations we still have. Priorities for what we need and any new suggestions on places to try. We can't keep raiding the same warehouses. We will get caught."

Alec shifted beneath Mole's palm, reaching out for a map. "What day is it?" he asked quietly.

Mole ignored the look of concern that both Luke and Adam cast in Alec's directions and instead answered the question, "It's Tuesday the twenty-fourth."

Alec nodded and then quickly scanned the map. "Has anyone tried this yet?" he said, his finger coming to rest over an area of warehouses.

The others looked at the map, all agreeing that no one had been near that particular complex. "This place gets the bulk of its stock delivered on Wednesdays. You -you could hit it tomorrow night. I'd been thinking about it before but," he shrugged and left the sentence unfinished. He looked round uncertainly. "I - I think you would need to take a bigger team, as many people as you can safely move and trust."

His fists were clenched around the back of a chair, knuckles white with the tension as he tried to keep going. "I think, I think you should hit it once and once only and get as much as you can from it. These units first are what I - I was thinking before," he said as he moved one finger across the map, indicating four different units. He looked up at Mole as if seeking approval for the plan. "Get as much as you can . . . try not to kill anyone. When I was thinking about it before, I saw there are trucks here and here. I thought we could fill them with everything we could. Then we could drive . . . drive to . . ." His eyes roved over the map again. "It's not here, it's not here . . ." He looked up and saw Ben laughing at him derisively. "Fuck off! Leave me alone! I can do this! I know what I'm doing!"

Ben quirked an eyebrow, then with a broad grin, took one finger and dragged it across his own throat, eyes gleaming, before pointing the same finger at Alec, then Mole before finally settling on Adam.

Mole pinched the flesh of his arm just below the elbow. "He's not there, Alec, you know that. Focus on this now. Where are they driving to? Adam needs to know."

Alec swallowed anxiously, before looking down at the map again and finally seeing what he needed, miles out of the city, barely still on the map. "Here . . . drive here. I have keys . . . storage . . . keys to storage and you can hide everything there and bring it in bit by bit. Then I thought we could keep up with the usual raids, but supplement supplies with these. Don't bring it all in at once or people will think they can have more supplies when we can't keep up that kind of raid."

Adam repeated the details back to Alec, making sure they had all the details correct so far. Then Alec had explained further, confidence growing a little as he spoke, "These units are medical supplies. Have people you don't know so well hit those. Those supplies can come straight here or you can drive some away for storage . . . people aren't going to react the same to storing medical supplies for later as they are to the food. Only have people you trust hit these food supply units and only our - your team head out to our storage." He scanned the map a final time, finger stopping outside another warehouse storage complex. "Dump the trucks here. There are some rival companies of delivery trucks, they'll think they were jacked by the opposition . . . or at least they might."

"How long will it take?" Adam asked.

"You'll need to make the first hit at dusk. Just after shift change so be careful. The staff will be fresh, but if you don't hit it then you won't have time to do everything before sun up."

"Okay. Luke, can you get me any more details on these locations?" he asked, lifting the map from in front of Alec and taking it across to the man who'd still been working at the computers.

"Come on, princess, we're going for a walk, getting some fresh air and letting people see that you're up and about and the rumors of your death have been greatly exaggerated." Mole tapped him on the shoulder and Alec responded by getting up and following him down the steps.

When they were away from Command Center and isolated, Alec finally spoke, "I know I'm seeing things, but the plan -"

"The plan is fine," Mole cut him off. "Doesn't stop you needing some air and exercise and everyone needing to know that you're here and guiding what's happening. You've just put into action the biggest planned raid so far and you're not going on it, so people need to know that you're here and working behind the scenes to make sure this is viable and that it isn't some cracked idea that Luke and I came up with to get rid of a few unwanted X5s and 6s. So quit thinking about it and walk, be nice, say hello to people. Rumor has it that's what normal people do."

# # #

When Max made it upstairs in the Command Center, she saw only Luke and Adam poring over maps, detailed itineraries and lists of people. She resisted the urge to snap and instead asked as calmly as she could bring herself to do, "Where's Mole? Where's Alec?"

"They've gone for a walk to get some air," Luke replied brightly. "Alec's given us a great plan. We're just thrashing out technicalities now."

Max looked wary, but she didn't immediately join them. Instead she looked back down the stairs towards the door as if tempted to go in search of Alec and Mole, but then she admitted that she had to trust the two of them and that for now, her attention would be better given to the plans that Luke and Adam were working on, to make sure that everything was considered. She knew Alec had been planning something bigger before he'd become ill; presumably this was it.

She listened quietly for a while before interjecting quietly with a few questions of her own. She could see the plan was a good one, but she was concerned. She liked Adam, but she didn't know him like she knew Alec, she didn't know whether the people he wanted to use could be trusted like she trusted Alec.

She'd been surprised over the last few days by her own concern for Alec. Superficially she knew she'd thought of him as a liability. Yet in her heart she knew if she'd really thought that of him, she would not have made him her second no matter what Joshua and Mole might have said. Seeing him so truly ill, realizing that he'd done that to himself to prove to her what he'd been trying to tell her. She hadn't listened, but he hadn't been good at explaining. He'd never had a chance to explain before now she realized. Explanations had never been a part of his life at Manticore - he would never have received any, never been allowed to give any. Missions would have been given on a purely need to know basis; he'd have been told who to be, how to behave and what to do; not one of those would have been accompanied by an explanation as to why. His performance would have been rated as a success or failure; there would have been no opportunity to explain, just punishment for failure, even if it weren't his fault, and reward for success, even if he'd had to adapt because their information was inadequate.

It was easy to forget with Alec just how limited his experience of the real world was. It was easy to be fooled by his wisecracks and his bravado and never to realize that underneath he was a mass of insecurities and misinformation.

So far it had been easy to ignore how much he had come to mean to her. Things were changing for her as well. She wanted to be sure he was safe, he was well. More than that, she wanted him to know that they were friends, that he was important to her; that somebody cared for him.

She cared for him.

She interrupted Adam, "Is Alec intending coming with you?"

He shook his head. "No, he isn't. I'm going to lead the usual team and hit these stores. I need to figure something out though to free up one of them to hit these for medical supplies and. -"

"I'll lead the second team," she said. "You give me a list of likely people. I only need a few X5s. I'll speak to Dalton; he'll round up some of the 6s as well."

"Max, I'm not sure," Adam began, faltering under her glare.

"Make sure it's safe enough then!" she said firmly. "You need someone to lead. It's not going to be a team that uses your extra strengths, so there's no reason for me not to lead. It'll be good for morale." She waited for further objections, relieved when they didn't come. She was reminded of Mole's earlier comment about Adam being nice enough, but not being made to lead in the same way as Alec had been. She wondered for a moment what he would have been like with his brother alongside him.

"Luke, I heard on the grapevine that one of the X5s that made it in yesterday was a heuristic planner. Have you heard anything about that?"

"No, not true. We were told there were three X5s who came in together and six X6s came in by a different route and at a different time. None of the X5s were battle computers. Let's be honest they weren't exactly built for their own survival, they could only tell other people what to do to keep them safe."

"Just keep looking," she said shortly. "And don't call them Battle Computers . . . Survival. We want to survive, not to go to war!"

# # #

Steve had tried to find more information about Manticore and its experiments. He had begun with the internet and "Google" as Tony had taught him in the early days of their acquaintance. It gave him nothing of use; more information than he would ever need on a legendary beast with the body of a lion and the head of a man and a rather poorly rated film from 2005.

He contacted Agent Coulson and Director Fury, both of whom were off-hand in their replies that Manticore was another branch of the military about which they knew nothing beyond the fact they had been closed down and the work they had been involved in had resulted in a debacle that had been all over the news of late. They gave nothing away that Steve hadn't already managed to find out.

He contemplated his options . . . Bruce or Tony.

"Jarvis?" He waited for the AI to respond. "Jarvis, would you have access to any more information about the work that went on at Manticore?"

"In relation to what area specifically, sir?"

"Anything more than the file Tony gave me. It doesn't matter what it's about. I just want to know more."

"The previous residents of the top secret military installation known as Manticore are now largely inhabiting an area of Seattle known as Terminal City. It is unclear exactly what the current level of occupation of that area is or how many personnel that leaves unaccounted for. Terminal City is currently unsuitable for human occupation, so some people see that as a compromise to allow the Manticore -" Jarvis paused as if searching for the correct phraseology. "Creations . . . they believe allowing the Manticore Creations to live there is reasonable, providing they are not left to wander the streets. I think that could be surmised as the common perception, Sir."

"What does that mean? Not suitable for human occupation? What conditions are they living in?"

"Unpleasant ones, Captain. They have negligible access to clean water, regular power. They have no immediate food sources or medical facilities. It is unclear from press releases and available military sources what their precise needs would be on this front. Seattle has seen somewhat of an increase in what appear to be organized hits on food supply depots. One could draw a conclusion that the two were related, if one cared to consider the matter in detail, although it appears that none of the Government or Law and Order officials have done that at the current time."

"So you're telling me, these soldiers have no access to food, clean water, power . . . nothing and they are left with having to steal to survive through no fault of their own."

"One could make that assumption, yes, Captain. One could also assume that they are safer where they are than they would be if they surrendered as it is unclear what the military's stance is on their future position; however, the general populous of the area tends more towards antagonism than support due to selective media promotion of certain viewpoints."

"It's not acceptable, Jarvis."

"No, Captain, I'm sure it's not."

"Jarvis . . . I don't want to put you in a difficult position, but would you know if Tony knows any more than he has shared with me?"

"Very little, sir. He has been making enquiries, employing certain lines of research to try and illuminate further information. I believe that when he has definite information he may be willing to share that with you, given that he made the decision to bring you the file earlier."

"Thank you for answering that. Would you know whether Bruce was ever involved in their work? He works with genetics, right?"

"It is possible that there was sharing of information between Dr Banner and scientists at the Manticore facility. There are also periods of Dr Banner's work which are classified so it would be possible to assume that any one of those periods could conceivably have been spent working with an organization such as Manticore, however, at this point I could neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of such an assumption."

"Could I ask you to try and verify such an assumption?"

"I could endeavor to do so, sir."

"Thank you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Alec was thankful that Joshua had stopped talking, stopped trying to intervene as he paced the length of the apartment and back again. Ben just sneered from his seat up on the window sill as usual.

Alec was anxious. Max had gone out with Adam for the raids on the warehouse complex; she was leading the second unit. He felt sick to his stomach at all the things that could go wrong. She had looked at the plans he'd drawn up and made the decision to go along. It didn't make him feel any better.

As far as he could see there were two possible outcomes and neither boded well for him. The guilt of being so selfish didn't make him feel any better. The thing was if the raids went well and everyone returned safe and sound and with plenty of supplies, then Max would see that she really didn't need him around anymore, that she and Adam could organize and lead raids without him, that he really was nothing more than a liability now, broken like Ben had been, except not like Ben. Not like Ben, he reminded himself again. The other possibility was that something would go wrong and that everyone in Terminal City would look to him for someone to blame.

He paced again, unaware that Joshua had returned until he felt himself caught by the shoulders and started to instinctively lash out, only halting when Joshua's voice penetrated the fog. "Alec, stop now. Sit."

He was shaking by the time Joshua was able to guide him into a seat and as he glanced across at Ben, the first thing he noticed was that Ben's usual sneer had been replaced by a malevolent gleam to his eyes and an eager anticipation of what Alec might do next. But Alec didn't want to hurt Joshua.

Alec clenched his fists, digging the nails into his palms as hard as he could in an attempt to maintain control.

"Max and Adam fine. Be back before you know it," Joshua said softly. "Alec need to have faith."

"In what?" he croaked hoarsely. "In what? The Blue Lady?"

Joshua looked at him confusion clear. "Don't know a blue lady," he said.

Alec gasped, eyes flitting immediately to Ben who appeared to find the whole situation highly amusing, judging by the broad grin on his face. Alec pushed himself up and stalked across to the window, to Ben, shouting, "I don't know the Blue Lady. She was yours - your invention - your fallacy! Not mine! She wasn't mine! I don't know anything about her. I don't . . . I don't. . . I don't."

When Ben just continued to laugh at him, Alec suddenly turned away. "You're not real," he said, the words sharp and angry. "You're not real and I - I don't know the Blue Lady so leave me alone!" He slumped to the floor, leaning back against the wall beneath his brother's perch and pulled his knees up to his chest. "I don't know the Blue Lady," he said again desperately.

Joshua followed him, dropping to the floor in front of him and resting a hand on his shoulder in support, but not knowing what more to do or say.

# # #

By the time Max returned with the first team bearing the medical supplies, she was feeling pretty keyed up. She had made sure all the supplies were brought in safely and then left Gem and Dalton to arrange for their storage and for inventory to be taken and given to Luke in the morning. She would leave it to Luke to advise the people who had taken on the bulk of the medical requirements for Terminal City as to what was now available and in what quantities.

She was buzzing with excitement at how well everything had gone and couldn't wait to share the news with Alec and Joshua. She knew she was jumping the gun a little, after all it would be hours yet before Adam's team returned, but still Alec needed to know how it had all turned out. She knew he'd been anxious about all the things that could go wrong beforehand, the feelings exacerbated by the fact he couldn't be part of the raid himself.

She ran through the streets with ease despite the lack of light, glad when she turned the corner and saw a light still on in their apartment. She rapped on the door and heard movement that could only be Joshua coming down the stairs to let her in.

She didn't expect the look of worry on his face as she opened the door. "Oh, little Fella," he greeted, "Come in."

"Hey, big Fella," she replied warmly. "Glad you're still up, wanted to speak to you both, tell you how well the first part of the raid went."

"Errr, not both up. Alec bed. Alec not good. Talking to people not here, talking about blue ladies. Joshua has never seen a blue lady, not even at Manticore!"

"The Blue Lady?" she repeated shocked, sure that there was no way Alec would have known about Ben's Blue Lady. "That was who he was talking to?"

"You know the Blue Lady? No, Alec not talking to her, talking to someone else saying she belongs to them."

"Ben!" she gasped. "He's talking to Ben . . . I thought he was over that."

"No," Joshua answered sadly. "No, think seeing him a lot. Often hear Alec say 'leave me alone' but don't think talking to me."

"Is he asleep? Can I come and see him?"

"Don't wake if asleep. Not sleep well, very tired," Joshua warned seriously as he let her slip past him and up the stairs to the apartment.

Quietly she opened the door to Alec's room and saw him tossing and turning in his sleep, mumbling words she couldn't quite make out. She felt Joshua at her shoulder, heard his rumbled, "Oh no, not good. Bad dreams again."

"I'll wake him," she said, quietly sitting down beside Alec on the bed and reaching out to shake him awake.

Alec jerked upward, one hand coming up to her throat before he had time to register who it was. As realization dawned, his hand pulled sharply back and he sat rigid staring at her. They both seemed frozen in place, neither quite sure what to say to break the tension.

In the end it was Alec who broke the silence with a softly spoken, "Sorry. Didn't mean to do that," before he lay down and rolled to face away from her.

She sighed, uncertain for a moment before coming to a decision and moving round to the other side of the bed, she kicked off her shoes and lay down facing him. When he started to roll away, she reached out her hand and grasped his arm, holding him in place. "I'm worried about you," she said gently. "Ben's around, isn't he?"

"He's not real," Alec whispered back hoarsely. "I know he's not real. I'm sorry."

"Manticore's doing, not yours, Alec. You can't help this. It's not your fault, but you need to let us in, Joshua and I. You need to let us help you."

He shook his head, turning his face into the pillow. She ran her hand up and down his arm.

"We're not at Manticore anymore, Alec. You don't have to hide this from the two of us." She shifted closer. "You were there for me. I know I've never said it, never admitted it, but so many times, through so many things you've been there for me. Even when I've treated you badly, you still stuck around and tried to do the right thing. I know that sometimes you've got it wrong and I know that I've not understood that, but I'm learning too. I've always judged you as if we'd had the same life . . . it's only now that I'm beginning to understand just how hard things got as you grew up after we left, how much worse things were. I don't know that I'll ever really know, ever really understand. Maybe that's impossible for anyone who hasn't been through it, but you're out now and things can get better. We can face this together."

He shook his head again but didn't say anymore. She edged closer still, curling into his warmth and pushing him onto his back so she could lie along his side, one arm thrown across his waist. "Your plan was a good one. Just have to hope everything went as well for Adam's team as it did for mine. We have got so many really good supplies from that. I'll tell you all about it in the morning, but now it's time we got some proper sleep." She closed her eyes, feigning sleep, trying to draw out her breathing and relax her body in the hope it would help him do the same. Time passed, second by second, minutes ticking away until finally she felt as the tension drained away and he slipped into a light slumber. She didn't move, but finally allowed herself to follow him into sleep.

# # #

When Max woke in the morning, she took a moment or two to register where she was. She felt rested, deeply relaxed, both of which were somewhat of a surprise. As she came further awake, she became aware of Alec's fingers sifting gently through her hair. She smiled and shifted slightly, disappointed when his hand dropped away and he began to move.

"Alec, wait! Please," she said urgently.

He stopped moving, but the sense of him being poised to leave didn't abate. She wasn't really sure what to say, what he needed to hear, but she let her hand drift gently over his stomach. "I thought maybe we could go into Command Center together today," she suggested.

"If you want to," came his non-committal reply.

"So, breakfast at mine or yours?" she asked trying to lighten the mood

He didn't seem to know how to answer. She thought about the battle for rations, the fear he must have carried about what he knew his body would do to him when he'd embarked on his effort to save his team at the same time as proving to her why he was right.

She pushed herself up on one elbow, so that she could see his face properly and then gently laid her hand along his jaw to guide him to look at her. "Alec, if we eat here now, then we'll eat at mine later. I'm not going to just take your rations . . . I promise."

He closed his eyes and said, "That's not what-"

She cut him off. "It doesn't matter . . . more than anyone else here, you have every right to be concerned." She dragged her thumb back and forth across his jaw soothingly. "I wish this hadn't been your only way of showing me how important it was. I wish I'd listened."

His eyes opened and met hers again, "It was my fault. I should have been able to . . ."

She smirked, "Make me listen? Seriously, Alec, have you ever known me to willingly listen to anyone without them having some way of painfully ramming the point home? Usually they'd want the pain to be on my side though."

The joke fell short. "I never wanted to hurt you, Maxie," he said, "Or at least, not in a long time."

"Your heart is all wrong for an assassin, you know that. You're too good a person," she teased gently.

He shook his head, "Don't underestimate the things I've done."

"The things you were _made _to do to save yourself, Alec. Not the same thing. And if we judged everyone by the worst things they'd done, the world would be a sorry place."

"The world is a sorry place," he said.

"Only sometimes," she agreed. "So . . . I figure we should probably talk about Ben, don't you?"

"Not really," came his reply. "Ben's dead and the last thing you need-"

She shook her head, resting her fingertips over his lips. "Yes, Ben's dead and we both know my part in that. You are not dead, but you have been ill because of my stubbornness. And some of the symptoms of that illness are lingering - like you seeing Ben."

"I know he's not real," he said defensively.

"And the Blue Lady?"

Alec looked shocked. "I don't know who she is! I don't!"

"Joshua said that last night you were talking to Ben about her," Max prompted.

He shrugged, sat up and swung his feet off the bed. She followed him, catching an arm around his neck and holding him in place. "It's okay. Joshua doesn't know who she is, I don't know whether you do or not . . . but I do . . . I know, so it's okay to tell me about her."

He reluctantly began, "I don't know but - but there's a picture in my head of a woman and she's dressed in blue. And a picture of Ben and her together, sort of, him kneeling in front of her, him doing things for her. I don't know whether they're real images. I mean, I never met Ben but I can see him bringing her things, gifts, but I can't tell what they are. Is it real?" He suddenly looked her in the eyes, and asked again, "Is it real? Was he with the Blue Lady? Giving her gifts? Or is this something Manticore put in my mind? I can't tell anymore, Max."

She sighed, but didn't let go of him. "I don't know how you know about it; maybe Manticore did fill in the gaps in your mind when they were trying to find out if you'd turn into him. That could be how you know about her, how you can see what he did. Or maybe it's just that you've pieced together enough of what he did and actually come up with something very close to the truth."

She shifted to sit alongside him, hooking her arm through his to keep the connection that she felt they probably both needed. It had been hard enough to start to tell him about Ben the first time, but he'd been there, he had been more understanding than she thought she could ever expect anyone to be.

"When we were still at Manticore, Ben used to tell us stories. He used to make us think that everything would be okay and then this guard gave him a picture of 'The Blue Lady' and told him if we prayed to her, everything would be okay. Ben tried really hard, he took it to heart so much that everything he did, he did it for her but things never got any better. When we left Manticore, she was all he had left, his Blue Lady . . . he found her . . . They call her The Virgin Mary, she was the mother of Jesus. They have statues of her in churches. As Ben grew more desperate for things to get better, he gave her more and more 'presents'. He tried so hard to be what he thought she wanted." She felt Alec shudder alongside her and thought that in his own way that was something the two of them shared. "All those people he killed, those teeth he took-"

Alec finished the sentence for her, "He gave them to her." There was a sense of inevitability to his words. "Is she real? Did she come for him?"

"She - she isn't real like you and me, but some ordinaries believe in her. I don't think she came for him. I don't think she would have wanted him to do those things. I don't know that she would listen to any of us. We're not real humans, maybe she only listens to real humans."

"Where would I find her?"

"Alec, I don't think it's a good idea," she said warily.

"I know, but I need to see her, I need to see if what I've got in here," he put his hand to his head, "is real. Is that what she really looks like? Maybe if I see her then I'll remember where these pictures come from. Maybe it'll all make sense then."

She turned pulling him into a hug, "Alec." She choked on a sob. "Alec, I don't think this is a good idea. Look what she drove Ben to do. You're not him, don't let her make you into him."

He nodded, "I won't, but in case, I'll speak to Adam and Mole. If there's any chance that I'm turning into something like Ben, they'll stop me."

Furiously, she blinked back tears, desperate to come up with a way to stop him, but instead she just held him close and finally brought herself to say, "I'll take you to see her."

# # #

Command Center was quiet when Max and Alec arrived, and they made their way straight up the stairs surprised that neither Luke nor Mole was already there. "Guess everyone had a late night," said Alec, in something that so approached his normal tone of voice, it caught Max by surprise and she spun round to look at him. He took a step back startled by her reaction. She apologized reaching out for him as she did so. She was surprised how easily he accepted her touch, how he stepped forward into it. She smiled warmly.

"Guess we should start making ourselves useful," she said.

"I'd imagine that Mole and Luke are down cataloguing supplies and allocating them to make sure that no one takes more than they should."

She gave a half laugh, "I don't know where my brain is this morning, you're probably right." She moved across to the table where there was a map of Seattle spread out. Sitting down, she looked at the places already marked on it as having been hit by Alec's unit and the ones they still had earmarked for future short term hits. There was nothing as big as the raid they'd done the previous night. "We could do with a few more hits like last night's," she said resignedly.

Alec looked at her anxiously, then sat down. "Alec?" she prompted. "You've been thinking of something?"

He nodded, leaned over the map and said, "There's another haulage depot here, like the one you hit last night and one here as well." He pointed out two locations on the map. "I'd need to do some more reconnaissance before I could give you enough information about what's stored there and how many teams should hit it and when, but," he looked up at her intently, concern clear, "I don't know how quickly we should hit them . . . After last night, they might strengthen their security thinking they're likely to be targeted, but also if we - if we bring in too many supplies at once, people here are going to get complacent, they'll begin to think there's plenty to be had but there isn't. It takes time, planning and we have to balance the risk and cost against the gain."

Max nodded. "I see what you mean."

"Another option, and I know you're not going to like this," he grimaced, "is to hit places further away, that way there's less chance of it being tied back to us. People here hate us already, it isn't exactly going to take them long to work out that the reason we haven't starved to death is because we're stealing from them. If we steal from further away, then maybe they'll be less likely to drive tanks in here to retrieve what we've stolen."

"I don't like it. I understand what you're saying and I don't disagree with you, but I still don't like it. Transgenics out on their own . . . if something went wrong, we couldn't help."

"If something goes wrong now, here, the raiding teams know there's no rescue coming. They'd be dead before anyone here even knew they'd been caught. No one out there is going to give a shit about bringing a Transgenic to justice. They'll kill them, no question."

"And who would go on these trips? How would we manage without them?"

"I'd go. On my own at first. Advance scout. Then I'd come back and take a team." He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"No! You can't. I need you here."

"It makes sense," he said calmly, not reacting to the emotions in her response. "I'm trained for it. I've got the best chance of surviving it. You know that I'll have everyone here's interests in mind. Some of the X5s who would agree to this kind of mission, if they think there's a better offer out there, they'll take it."

"No, Alec!"

Voices in the room below put an end to their discussion and Alec drew away from her, moving to fetch paper from the other side of the room. Her eyes were on him, despite the approach of other people. "I'm not going to let you go," she said quietly as the first of the footsteps hit the bottom step.

He looked at her. "I'm not Ben, and even if I were, you don't owe me anything. It's me who owes you."

She wanted to continue the conversation, knew that if she let the moment pass there was no guarantee she would get the chance to talk to him about his final comment, let alone stop him leaving the city, but they couldn't talk this out in front of other people and so reluctantly, she let the matter drop.

# # #

The day had been a productive one and by the end of it they had an accurate account of all the medical supplies and how they'd been organized. Using Luke's lists of all TC residents they were able to locate some of the Transgenics, who they knew from experience in barracks or on missions, needed medication and so they'd contacted those individuals, called them in and tried to best match what they had available with their needs and then they'd used word of mouth to spread the word throughout the rest of TC that there were limited medical supplies available and that individuals in need of treatment for any condition could go to Command Center and register and if what they needed was available they would be given a supply as long as stocks lasted.

The results had been positive. They'd had less people than they expected turn up and there were only one or two medications that they didn't have, but they'd taken details and promised that as soon as they could they would try to locate a pharmacy from which they could get a supply.

Luke had kept track of everyone and while they'd only given out a few days' supplies at first, he'd been entering data and calculating how long their stocks would last. Barring any sudden emergencies or influxes of vast numbers of Transgenics with the same requirements, he'd estimated they safely had enough to last them almost three months. It was a good start.

Alec had worked the day, a solid presence at Max's side. He'd been the one to step forward when Max had given a particularly belligerent X5 only three days' supply of Tryptophan. "Trying to keep us on a leash, little girl," he'd sneered when Max had handed over the pills. "You've hauled more than that in. Give me a decent supply!" As his hand had reached up towards Max, Alec had blurred, snatched the same moving arm, twisting it up his back and slamming him into the wall.

"Be glad you've got anything," Alec snarled into his ear, "It's more than you had this morning and it wasn't you risking your neck to get it." He seemed to look over the other X5, before adding, "Your seizures haven't even begun yet. . . All this time without and you aren't seizing yet." Alec was taking note of the movement of the man he had pinned and realization dawned. "That's not why you need them. You don't seize at all."

The other X5's anger seemed to intensify and he heaved back against Alec, loosening his grip, but Alec was ready for him as he turned and the two of them fell to the floor in a scramble of flying fists. Alec gained the upper hand again, despite his slighter frame, and Mole moved in, pressing his gun to the prone Transgenic's forehead. "Hmmm, finished posturing now, asshole? Or, you know, I could pull the trigger and waste your sorry ass. Not a problem if that's the way you want to go. Your choice, man?"

"Let me up," he gritted.

"Aw, what! No please? Do you think we should let him go, Alec? Do you think we should let him keep the tryptophan or shall we save it for someone more deserving?"

"Asshole!" the Transgenic snarled.

"That's no way to make friends," Mole warned.

"I'm gonna let you go with that tryptophan and you're going to come back in three days for your next supply, by which time we'll have more idea exactly how many people are gonna need it and how long it's gonna last. When you come back, you're gonna say please and thank you and be grateful for what you're given, because trust me, when it comes down to the line, we'll treat the guys with seizures first, so don't blow your chance."

The X5 subsided and Alec slowly let go and pushed himself up, offering a hand to the man still on the floor, who ignored it and got up himself, glaring at Alec as he did so. Alec plucked the package of meds from the table in front of Max and tossed it to him. "See you in three days."

Without a word, the man slammed through the door. Once he'd gone, Alec walked back round the table and dropped wearily onto the lower steps of the staircase. Mole pushed past him and headed up to the higher level, returning moments later with Alec's backpack and dropping it into his lap. Alec nodded, murmuring a quiet thanks, before unzipping and lifting out an energy bar and beginning to eat.

The rest of the day had gone smoothly with no more incidents, although at Alec's insistence, Mole or one of his buddies was always present as an armed guard for the people actually handing out meds. After a while Alec had retreated upstairs and when Max had joined him later, she'd found him drafting a letter.

"What are you working on?" she asked.

"A letter to go out with the next round of meds. Luke says we should have no problem with most of the conditions in safely giving people two weeks' supply of the meds they need, but our supplies aren't limitless and we are going to need to keep topping up stocks. Tryptophan in particular, because it's used not just to control the seizures but other conditions as well, is going to run out quickly. So I figure next time we ask people to monitor their usage, to work out what is a safe minimum they can take without side effects. If I can word this right, most will understand, will be willing to report back when they come for their next supply what they need, providing we make it clear that if anything triggers an episode they can have extra until it's back under control, that we will still have some in reserve for them."

"Is that safe?"

He looked up at her, "Nothing's safe anymore, Maxie. It's the best we can do. We aren't Manticore, we don't have doctors, and we don't have limitless supplies of everything. Everything we burn through quickly, we have to replace. If they take all the tryptophan, we have to steal more. You know the risks in going out raiding. There are too many people here to feed and medicate on such a tenuous supply, but it's all we've got."

She reached out and ran a hand through his hair, letting it come to rest on his neck. "You're right," she said with a smile.

"That must be a first," he retorted.

# # #

Max hurried out of the Command Center in pursuit of Alec. He'd worked the whole day and she'd watched as he'd become paler and the dark shadows beneath his eyes had got deeper, but he'd not slacked and she hadn't wanted to suggest that he should take a break or go home early, in case he took it the wrong way as he did so many things of late.

But there was a change of personnel, with both Luke and Mole leaving for the evening and she'd said that she was going too, so as he'd finished his current task, he'd said goodnight and made for the door. She'd quickly followed, as soon as she'd managed to tidy her notes away. She'd run after him, catching him halfway down the street. "Alec, wait!"

He'd looked round in surprised. "Max? Did you need something else?"

"Um, yeah. I thought," she paused as she tried desperately to come up with something. "Yeah, I thought that if you'd just come back with me to my place to pick up something, I could come back to yours tonight. We could cook together and then watch some TV. I haven't got a TV and I didn't think you and Joshua would mind."

He'd shrugged his acceptance and turned down the street toward her place, adjusting his stride to allow her to walk with ease at his side.

Reaching her apartment, she asked if he wanted to go up, but he just shook his head and dropped down to wait on the bottom step while she hurried up the stairs to fetch her things. She threw some of her food supplies into a bag and tossed in a few things that she would need if she stayed overnight at Alec's again before dashing back down the stairs to rejoin Alec.

When they reached Alec's apartment, Joshua had his head in a cupboard as if trying to decide what to take out and use. Alec shook his head fondly, before heading across and pulling Joshua out and saying, "I'll cook. We have a visitor." He tilted his head towards Max.

"Oooh, Little Fella. You staying to eat. Better if Alec cooks, he knows more recipes. Joshua cooks macaroni and cheese."

Max smiled. "You do, and your macaroni and cheese is great, especially with the little hot dogs."

Joshua beamed and began to usher Max out of the cooking area and towards the couch. "What happen today? Max been busy? Lots of people at Command Center today? Pleased with all things brought back?" It was clear that he couldn't contain his eagerness and the questions fell one after another without giving her time to answer. She caught Alec's eyes over his shoulder and saw him smirk and give her a wave as he moved.

The meal didn't take long and when Alec called the two of them to the table, she found him dishing up something that in better circumstances would have been spaghetti bolognaise. There was definitely pasta in it and lots of tomatoes, some of the meat substitute Alec had brought in on his last raid with his team before becoming ill and a mixture of other vegetables that he had retrieved from tins in the cupboard.

"Not as good as it would be fresh," he said apologetically, as they all sat down.

"Joshua likes it!" Joshua was already tucking in to his plate of food eagerly. After a couple of mouthfuls, Max added her agreement.

Conversation was muted as they ate, each concentrating on their own food but as they finished, and Joshua and Max cleared the plates away and began to wash up, Max turned to Alec and said, "That was really good. If I'd known you could cook like that, I'd have been round your place more often when we were working at Jam Pony."

He gave a wry shake of the head as he moved through to sit down and turn the TV on. He listened to the two of them chatting behind him and tried to relax. He looked across at Ben, where he was sitting on his usual perch on the windowsill and shuddered. Ben gave a cheeky smile and wave. Alec closed his eyes.

All day, Ben had lurked just at the corner of his vision, but every time he had turned away, refused to acknowledge his brother's presence. Alec brought his hands up to cover his eyes, but he knew that Ben was sitting there laughing at him. He forced himself to drop his hands to his sides and to turn his attention to the TV, waiting, waiting for something that would drive Ben away.

When Max dropped down beside him on the couch, he jerked in surprise, tried to force himself to relax, but it was too late, she'd already noticed how tense he was. "You okay?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "Just watching," he replied as if it was nothing. He looked at her surprised when she curled up against his side, but lifted his arm and allowed her to tuck herself closer as he dropped his arm across her shoulders. Together they watched and almost with realizing he began to relax, only glancing across every now and then to see Ben glaring at him.

The news report came on and he tensed seeing yet another story of 'America's greatest superheroes'. "Ssssh," Max murmured. "Everything's okay."

"No, it's not." The words were out before he had chance to think about it. Her hand rubbed at his side trying to calm him and he barely resisted the urge to push her away and pace the room. He saw Joshua's look of concern. He couldn't help himself; he'd got no control over the words that wanted to spill out. "Look at them, Max! Look at them. What's so different between them and us? Nothing." He looked at her, eyes pleading for her to understand. "Captain America! Have you seen him? Do you know what he is? He's a human, enhanced by some serum that supposedly no one has ever been able to reproduce. Then that one, he was a scientist who was accidentally exposed to some radiation and he turns into a superhero that they call the Hulk. How is that different to us? We're more in control than he is. We're . . ."

Max shifted position so that she could reach up and turn his head to make eye-contact, drawing his attention away from the TV and to her instead. "You're right, Alec. It isn't fair, it isn't right and they are like us, but right now, we can't change that and so we have to focus on staying alive and improving our situation. We can't waste energy on things we can't control, not yet."

He pushed himself up, freeing himself from her contact. "It's not right!" he snapped.

Joshua was out of his seat as well, trying to guide him backwards and calm him down before he caused himself or the furniture any more damage. "Alec, stop now. Max is right. First we work on what we can do . . . later we look at ways to change, to make contact."

"You think they'll care? You think they would even notice or see themselves like us?" He turned round and caught sight of Ben's eager expression as he waited for Alec's outburst to escalate further and he stopped. "No! No, you don't get to . . . to drive me to do -" His hands came up to his face. "Go away! You're not real!"

Joshua wrapped his arms around Alec, guiding him out of the room and into his own bedroom, sitting him down on the bed without turning on a light. "Alec okay. Alec safe here with Joshua and Max. Nobody else here." He kept up a running dialogue as he encouraged Alec to get himself ready for bed and lie down.

When Joshua came out of the room a few minutes later, he saw Max still sitting there and started to apologize. She stopped the apology, instead saying, "He slept a little better last night with company, so I thought I could stay again. I've brought some things with me."

Joshua seemed happy with the suggestion and left her to get ready and join Alec. She climbed on to the bed behind him, wrapped her arms around him and began to talk softly until he fell asleep.

# # #

The good thing about a career as an assassin was the practice one got at moving in the dark, staying out of sight and remaining undetected. Obsidian was good at all of those, but he was putting his days of assassination behind him, turning his skills to better use. Then again, he mulled, that would all be a matter of opinion.

Just then he was suspended halfway down an apartment block, just to the side of a particular window waiting. Superheroes! He was fed up with hearing about superheroes, what about the man on the street who needed protecting or in this case the woman in the apartment block. Noooo! Something like this would be too small, too insignificant for one of 'America's Greatest ever Superheroes'. Even mentally Obsidian sneered the words as he thought them.

He'd spent the last few nights working out this particular bastard's pattern and that was how he worked out where he'd be tonight. The girl inside had no idea what was about to happen. Obsidian hadn't done enough of this to be sure of letting her know she was safe before anything happened. If things were different... but they weren't, so he forced his thoughts away and checked his watch instead.

He caught a glimmer of light from the room, small and faint enough that it was unlikely to have disturbed the girl sleeping inside. Obsidian moved closer to the window, cautiously and watched for the right moment.

The would-be rapist was now in the room with the sleeping girl, making his way to the bed and - Obsidian wasn't going to give him the chance to get any further than that, seeing the zip ties and syringe in his hands. He pushed himself in a swing out from the wall, heading back into the window feet first, freeing himself from the line as the window smashed and enabling him to tackle the attacker before he even had time to fully register the smashing window.

Obsidian moved swiftly, using the zip ties on the man himself, before deciding to give him a piece of his own treatment and sticking him with the syringe. The girl was cowering terrified on the bed, when Obsidian turned to her and said, "You're safe now, ma'am, but you might want to call law enforcement to take him away. Tell them he's the rapist they've been looking for. Goodnight."

Obsidian took a step up onto the window sill, glanced back to check that she was in fact reaching for the phone, threw a "Sorry about the window!" over his shoulder as he re-attached himself to the line before letting himself drop a few feet from the window.

As soon as he was out of sight, he swung across and began to scale upwards. Law enforcement would take a while to arrive, they'd concentrate on the girl and the rapist first and by the time they came looking for him, they'd be hunting in all the wrong places thinking he'd left at ground level. Instead Obsidian swung himself up and over the roof's edge, gathered up all his equipment and shifting it into his backpack, he ran along the edge of the building before leaping to the next one. From there he had another set of ropes that took him higher still. It wouldn't take him long to be out of this district all together without ever touching the ground.

Obsidian was for the minute at least undetectable.

# # #

Clint rolled his eyes and snorted as the woman on TV said, "He was a real hero. He saved me. If it hadn't been for him, I'd have been the next victim. Everyone knows what the **** did to those other women, so I will be forever thankful to him. He's a wonderful man."

"Oh right, because everyone's a hero now. The guy's just a vigilante and vigilantes are dangerous."

Steve frowned, "What's so bad about what he's done? He saved the woman, and he didn't kill the attacker, he tied him up and left him for the police. Surely he's embodying the original meaning of the word vigilante, which was a person who was vigilant, who watched out for wrongdoers. He didn't mete out his own justice."

"Sticking the guy with his own syringe isn't meting out justice? Really?"

"You don't think that's what I'd do in that situation?" said Tony from the door. "And in case you'd missed earlier news reports, I am apparently one of 'America's Greatest Ever Superheroes'. For what the guy did to all those women I'd say that was the least the guy could do." He turned his gaze to Steve. "Can I borrow you, Cap? I've got some ideas for your uniform that might give a bit more protection and I'd like to run them past you."

Steve stood up instantly and headed towards Tony. Clint immediately started to flick through the channels away from the news before settling on something lighter. Tony said snidely, "Yes, good, the grown-ups can go down and do some work, while the children while away their time getting square eyes and turning into couch potatoes!"

Clint lifted the cushion from the seat beside him and without turning, threw it at Tony. Tony took a step back so the cushion landed at his feet. "Missed," he said, drily, picking it up and throwing it back at Clint before heading out of the room and down towards the workshop.

# # #

Steve perched on the stool alongside Tony's workbench and waited for Tony to show him the new designs or begin to talk or bring something out to show him but instead Tony paced back and forth across the workshop floor. Steve waited, figuring Tony would start in his own time and wouldn't appreciate the interruption.

Nothing happened. Tony continued to pace and Steve sat and waited.

Eventually Steve said, "Tony? You wanted to show me something?"

"What? Oh, erm . . . yeah. Here," he moved to the screen, manipulated images easily and with a speed Steve almost envied. Only almost as he wasn't that confident that his thoughts could have kept up even if he were that confident with the technology. "Uniform. Yours specifically, although if this works perhaps I could adapt something similar for Clint and Natasha, giving them some added protection wouldn't be a bad thing either."

Although Tony was talking quickly, fingers flicking back and forth to show the alterations he was thinking would improve the safety features of the design, Steve still got the feeling that he was distracted, mind on things other than just what he was showing Steve.

"You see, I could reinforce this area here, without reducing your movement or giving extra bulk, because trust me, a body like yours does not need extra bulk. You have bulk aplenty. If we need extra bulk we have Thor and Hulk for bulk. Huh, that rhymes Hulk provides the bulk. Yeah anyway, I was thinking about the vigilante, don't you think it's kind of strange, him cropping up now of all times and in Seattle of all places? You think that's strange, right?"

It took Steve a beat or two to catch up with the sudden leaps of topic in the conversation, from uniform to Hulk to Seattle's vigilante and he was slightly surprised to find Tony staring at him waiting for a response. "The vigilante?" he repeated.

"Yes, the vigilante, now, Seattle. Strange, right?"

"In what way? I mean it might have been a guy who was just in the right place at the right time."

Tony stared at him for a moment longer as if not entirely believing he'd just said that. "In the right place at the right time? Hanging outside the ninth floor of an apartment block, for no particular reason in the middle of the night, he suddenly realizes some random girl's apartment is being broken into with a view to her being raped, so he leaps through the window and ties the guy up for her before exiting through the window again. Because there's always someone just passing by outside the window when you're nine stories up in the air and about to be attacked!"

"So you're saying it was staged?"

"Huh! No, actually no, I hadn't thought of that. Good point. Maybe it was staged. Hmmm . . ." Tony turned away, poking at his design again as he appeared to mull Steve's suggestion over.

"Tony, help a guy out. You're always telling me you're a genius, so now take pity on the guy who's not and tell him what you were thinking."

"Huh?" Tony looked up startled. "Oh! Didn't I say? Sorry. Transgenic. I was thinking Transgenic," he nodded as if to say he still thought that was the most likely answer.

"The Transgenics are locked inside Terminal City and I hardly think it's likely they're feeling very kindly towards the rest of the world right now. What would make one of them think it was worth his while to save a woman who in all likelihood would condemn him if she thought he was a Transgenic?"

"Yes, apparently they are locked inside Terminal City . . . however, they aren't conceding to any of the military or political pressure being put on them in exchange for food supplies, which would imply they're getting food from somewhere."

"Jarvis said they were, in all likelihood, stealing from food supply depots," Steve said simply. "It's not right, but I don't exactly blame them, given the circumstances."

"Jarvis told you?" Tony exclaimed. "What do you mean Jarvis told you?"

"I asked him about Terminal City and as a result we discussed the likelihood of them getting supplies like that. There doesn't seem to be another source as such."

"Jarvis! Jarvis, I told you to give me all information about -" Tony began angrily.

The AI blandly talked over him in reply, "You told me to give you all information about Manticore that could be reasonably retrieved from military, medical or governmental files. You requested that I monitor all news reports on all channels and provide you with links to anything that DIRECTLY pertained to Manticore and you requested that I leave you a file with anything else that might be relevant which I did."

"And the raids?" Tony demanded.

"Are listed in the final file, Sir. The one you haven't looked at."

Tony huffed in exasperation.

"I think perhaps you owe Jarvis an apology as it appears that he did exactly what you asked."

It was debatable which of the three of them was the most surprised when without thinking Tony followed Steve's instruction. "An apology is not necessary, sir," came Jarvis' reply. "Would you like to direct me to organize the data in a different way?"

"You do get that Jarvis is a computer, right?" Tony hissed at Steve. "You've got me apologizing to a computer!"

"You said he was an AI and that meant Artificial Intelligence. If he's intelligent then he certainly deserves an apology when he's been following your instructions so well."

"Not he, it. Jarvis is an it. He's a machine!"

"Well, now you're the one contradicting yourself!" Steve admonished. "Jarvis, thank you for your assistance and in doing your job so well."

"Not a problem at all, Captain Rogers."

Tony gave up trying to argue his point or defend himself and instead returned to the original matter. "So the vigilante. A Transgenic, what do you think?"

Steve nodded, "I suppose you could be right, although like I said before, why would someone being treated so badly by society want to defend society? Perhaps if Jarvis didn't mind he could monitor any news reports that discuss the vigilante in future. It might have been a one-off. One lone incident is hardly enough to warrant too much concern at this point."

"If Jarvis didn't mind!" Tony parroted back. "He - It - It doesn't mind, do you, Jarvis?"

"No, sir. I do not mind at all. In fact it would be a pleasure to be of assistance to the Captain."

"Traitor!" Tony hissed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Max woke in the morning alone. She shifted and realized that not only had Alec gone, but he'd been absent long enough for his side of the bed to be cold. She sighed, hoping he hadn't taken himself too far away. She got up herself, glancing out through the window to see that for once no rain was falling and the sky was clear and blue. Pulling clean clothes and wash gear from her bag, she mulled over what more she could do to help Alec.

It wasn't easy to know what to do for the best. He was recovering she had no doubt of that. The way he'd acted yesterday while at the Command Center had clearly proved he was much recovered from just a few days ago, but the sudden mood swing in the evening, accompanied by another hallucination of Ben showed that he still had some way to go. She wondered why he saw Ben here, why not everywhere he went. The other thought that pressed for attention was the cause of the sudden mood swing; the intense anger he'd felt at the talk on the TV of the superheroes and how they were defending America. She could understand the resentment, but to build that sudden and intense an anger seemed wrong somehow, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The world was an unjust place. Maybe that was it - maybe that was what Alec hadn't really grasped yet. Like Ben before him, maybe he thought he was going to find something better out here than the reality and while he wasn't dealing with it in the way that Ben had, maybe he couldn't reconcile the two images he now had of the world.

She sighed and took her things with her into the bathroom. She enjoyed the heat of the water and although a little spartan, the bathroom was spotless and efficient. A testament to its owner, she thought that he'd managed to not only renovate it to this level of 'working' but made it appear clean and fresh and whatever he'd done to get the water working that efficiently she also didn't know, but it was enough to make her want to stay over permanently.

Once dressed, she wrapped her hair in a towel and headed out into the apartment to see if Joshua had any idea where Alec was.

As she opened the bedroom door though, her first sight was of Alec, perched on the windowsill looking out into the distance, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. He looked tired and she wondered just how long he had slept before he'd come out here alone. She crossed the room to his side. "Hey you," she greeted softly as he turned to look at her, her hand already reaching out for him. "Have you been up long?"

"Couldn't sleep and didn't want to disturb you," he said without really answering the question.

"Thanks," she said, not pressing for an answer to the actual question. "Hope you don't mind but I grabbed a quick shower. It's so nice to have a decent power to it. How did you do it?"

"Amazing what I've picked up along the way," he said tonelessly. One hand drifted up to the edge of the towel around her hair. "Your hair is wet . . . Have you - have you brushed it out yet?"

"Erm no, not yet," she said, a little confused.

He looked away, back out the window but asked quietly, "Can I do it for you?"

"Sure. If you really want to. I'll get my brush, hang on."

When she got back, he'd set a chair from the table in the center of the room. He let her get comfortable and then took the brush from her hand and slipped its handle into his pocket as he carefully unwound the towel and gently squeezed as much water from her hair as he could. Then he began to brush. His strokes were tentative at first, careful and he pulled away when the brush caught on a knot as if afraid to hurt her, but gradually he grew more confident, teasing out the tangles and making her feel almost sleepy again with the soothing strokes and the care he was taking.

She'd been lulled by his tenderness and was startled when he stopped and said, "I guess that's all I can do for it. No dryer, sorry. Don't really need one with my hair and Josh . . . well, hair styling's not exactly one of his talents," he said fondly.

He held her brush out to her and as she took it, he stepped away, seemingly embarrassed by the help he'd offered. She stood and followed him, reaching out to catch his arm and hold him still, pull him closer, down so she could kiss his cheek. "Thank you," she murmured.

He didn't pull away, but instead rested his head in the curve of her neck. She didn't know what was going through his mind, but she held him close, cupped one hand to the back of his neck holding him there, hoping it was what he needed, sifting her fingers through his hair. "Everything's going to be okay," she said softly. "We're going to get through this, Alec."

He took a couple of shuddering breaths, then seemed to pull himself together, pulling away and standing up again, immediately turning to face the window. "Give me a minute and I'll make you some breakfast."

"I could do it," she offered, already moving towards the kitchen. He didn't stop her and she kept half of her attention on him as she got a few things together for breakfast for the two of them. "Is Joshua around?" she asked, wondering whether she needed to make enough for three.

"No. He's already eaten. He and some of the others are starting work on the community center idea where they wanted the X5s who'd had babies to be able to go and play with the children together, try and work out what they needed to know to bring the babies up. I guess that's something else that we're going to need to figure out and locate - stuff for the children to play with. I'll have to work that out soon, but I don't really know what they need."

"Alec." He moved across the room as she called his name. "Alec, we can work it out together. This doesn't all fall to you. I know when we started out I said that you could figure out how to get what we needed, where it would come from and how we'd get it in here, but I hadn't thought that through properly. We're a team, we work better together."

"You don't think I can do it?"

"It's not that. It's that I think you and I make a good team. We achieve more when we're working on things together. Like you said, you don't know anything about babies and in reality I don't know much. But between us, between us, with your common sense and your knowledge of where and how to locate stuff and my experience, which isn't much, but I have been around a few people with babies and children, between us we'll work it out."

He nodded and sat down on a chair to watch her work. Her back was to him when he next spoke. "I thought I might go outside and find a church today," he said calmly.

"Okay," she answered. "I'll come with you. We'll check in at Command Center and then we'll go."

"But -" he began.

She turned back to him, pan in hand and began to serve up the eggs she'd been cooking on to the two plates she'd got out before. "I'll come with you." Her tone was determined and he didn't argue. "Alec, I'm going to come for two reasons. I can take you to a church, but also I can make sure it's not the one where Ben . . . I wouldn't want you to be mistaken for him again. You've suffered enough for him already." Setting the pan down, she pushed one of the plates towards him and said, "Now eat up, while they're warm."

He looked at her, "I'm sure we didn't have eggs -"

She smiled, "You may not have, but I did. Now eat them while they're warm, because eggs are never as good cold." She sat down alongside him and began to eat her own, relieved when he began to eat and seem to enjoy them.

# # #

With the duties assigned for the day and vague excuses made, Max and Alec left the command center and headed for the concealed access route from Terminal City out into Seattle. They were both dressed in non-descript clothes and wearing baseball hats in the hope of staying sufficiently incognito so as not to draw attention to themselves. They slipped out onto a quiet backstreet and set their bikes on the ground, immediately setting off side by side.

Alec had been quieter than Max would have expected of him before, but she was growing used to this quieter more reflective Alec, although in her heart she wanted him to heal enough to regain most of his old personality. He let her lead them through the streets now, although he'd refused to go along with her earlier suggestion of resuming their old Jam Pony personas to move through the streets. When she'd asked why, he'd just said if they got caught, he didn't want it to come back on Normal and their old friends at the messenger service. She had to admit he had a point. Jam Pony had recovered once from its unwitting involvement with Transgenics, it wasn't fair to bring that down upon them again.

She slowed down as she turned down the street that brought them up to the church. She chained her bike to a nearby fence and waited for Alec to do the same. He hovered uncertain, until she took his hand and joined the general mill of people moving in and out of the cathedral pulling him resolutely with her.

As she held the door for an older lady to come out with a smile and pleasant greeting, she waited then gestured for Alec to go in ahead of her. He stepped in slowly, hesitantly, stepped to the side as someone else made their way to the door. His eyes were drawn to the light shimmering down orange over the central altar. The area was bright, clean and as he looked upward to the hanging glass that caught the light, he was transfixed for a moment by the way the light broke into shards that bounced off around the church.

Max gently nudged him forward, encouraging him to move deeper into the church, to see more. He paused by a stone basin, looking at it as if it would tell him why it was there, as if suddenly things he didn't understand would make sense. Max moved closer, said, "I think they call it a font. I think they have a ceremony to make babies part of the church using it."

"How?" he asked just as quietly.

She shrugged, "Don't know."

He accepted her answer and slowly moved deeper into the church, all the time watching the other people around them, trying to see what they did. Max could see him analyzing their actions as if he'd be able to fathom the meaning behind them. He hadn't let go of her hand, so she followed him, letting him direct their steps, investigate at his own speed. He paused at each statue regarding it carefully, turning his attention upward to each stained glass window. He seemed to like some and others he moved on from quickly. Max felt the hold on her hand tighten every time there was an image of the man she knew they called Jesus on the cross. Watching him she saw a glimmer of fear and distaste. Eventually he turned in front of the plainest image of Jesus on the cross that they'd seen yet. In the faintest whisper, he looked at her and said, "Why? I thought -" His voice trailed off, but she could see he was unnerved and she turned him away from the image.

"I think he was put to death like that and it's their way of remembering him and that he died because of his beliefs."

"Why would they want to believe the same thing if they thought it might lead there?"

"Maybe because they think there's something better afterwards?"

"After they die, you mean. Something after that. Is that what Ben thought?"

"He thought that killing for the Lady would make her protect him. He wasn't right. That isn't what she wants."

Alec nodded, then asked, "Where is she?" He looked round again and then began to move, still pulling Max along a step behind him.

She heard his breath catch, stepped closer, moving her other hand to be in contact with him and followed his gaze to the chapel in front of them both. Dark wood on the floor below her reflected back the soft glow of dozens of candles, all of them drawing an observer's gaze to the statue in the centre of a woman holding a baby. Alec's gaze was transfixed and Max moved closer into his side, hoping that she hadn't done the wrong thing.

"That's her, isn't it?" he whispered.

"Yes," she said, reluctantly.

"She was a mother to the baby?"

"I - I guess so," Max wasn't sure. She looked round wondering if there was some way of finding out what Alec wanted to know without giving away how little they understood.

"He was wrong to do what he did for her," Alec whispered. "She was a mother. A mother could never want that, never want someone to kill."

Max looked at the statue, surrounded by its warm glow, the aura of tranquility and serenity that encompassed the area. She had no idea why people came here, what they really expected to get, but as she and Alec stood there, she saw people come, kneel before the statue and bow their heads in prayer before they left again, moving on with their lives. None of them seemed hugely changed by the minutes they spent kneeling before the lady, no great weight lifted or inspiration given in that instant of kneeling, but there was a sense of peace on each of them as they moved on. It was enough for Max to know that whatever the Blue Lady did want of these people, Alec was right, it was never for them to be killers.

After a while, Alec moved on again, exploring more of the church but when they had finished, he made his way back to the chapel, found a seat just outside but from where he had a clear view of the statue of the mother and baby and he sat and just stared. Max sat alongside, wishing she knew whether she had done the right thing. Had she found Alec any respite from the turmoil that raged inside him or had she just caused more confusion, more of a sense of displacement?

She lost track of time and he was clearly completely unaware of anything but the way the lighting flickered and flared making shadows dance around the statue. Glancing down at her watch a while later, she was surprised to see how much time had passed and that it was almost lunchtime. She couldn't risk him staying here, wasn't willing to endanger the almost balance he was still working to reach with his eating. "Alec," she said softly, squeezing his hand. "Alec, we have to go now."

His eyes slid slowly away from the statue and over to her, then he gave a slow nod of understanding and stood up, letting her lead him back outside onto the hustle and bustle of the street and the people dashing back and forth.

Leaving the bikes where they were, she led him through the streets to a small street market she knew. There she browsed for fresh food, energy giving and healthy for him; the kind of thing they were both sorely missing. As they meandered through the crowds, she held him tight with one hand while the other lifted wallets from people they passed, rifling through for the feel of cash to be removed before dropping the wallet back to the floor to be trodden underfoot by passersby.

They spent the rest of the afternoon, cycling round the city looking for likely targets for future raids; places with the least defenses or those most easily overcome and the ones that were likely to yield the best reward. Alec drew her attention to a number of toy stores and they wandered into a couple of them to look round at the types of things that were available, both of them overwhelmed by the choice and none the wiser as to how they would ever start to choose what to take for the babies in Terminal City.

# # #

They had an evening meeting in the Command Center with Max and Alec poring over a map with Mole and Adam as they tried to decide where to target next with their raid. They decided to lead two teams the following night.

Adam would lead a team of average X5s out to raid for non-food supplies. They selected three stores not too close together so as not to make it blatantly obvious that it was the same team at all three, but equally not so far apart as to make travel between the three too long. They picked a pharmacy, a toy store and a clothing wholesaler.

Max, Alec and another X5 called Pace would lead the second team together on another food run. Their team would be bigger, enabling them to separate and hit two different types of food store. The aim for Pace's part of the team would be to bring back one supply of fresh food, perishable but much needed in terms of variety and the nutrients that they all would benefit from. Max and Alec would yet again target the long-lasting staples that were currently providing the bulk of everyone's diet.

Max didn't voice any of her concerns about Alec going on the raid, knowing that he would be well supported and the way that he and Adam had split their team meant that Alec's part of the team would all be advanced X5s providing him with the extra support and a now very experienced team. Pace would work with most of the second group knowing Max and Alec were close enough to help if need be but also enabling them to begin training some more teams and team leaders so they could make more frequent but smaller raids, hoping to stay below the radar.

Max knew this was probably also leading up to Alec's suggestion that they raid further from home, going away for days at a time to other cities to bring back supplies. Part of her knew how right he was, they couldn't keep making these demands on the citizens of Seattle. It was going to be tied back to them eventually and it was only going to increase the animosity at the gate. And that was if it didn't actually bring down the military on them.

As the others left for the night, Alec was tidying away the last of the maps and lists of essential supplies. Max saw everybody out, then returned to his side. "Ready to go home?" she asked with a smile.

He frowned for a moment. "Sure." He shrugged and sticking the papers into a drawer, he reached for his backpack. "What about you?"

"Can I come by yours again?" she asked, relieved when he nodded. She could see the uncertainty in his eyes. "My place sucks," she said simply.

The uncertainty changed to concern. "You want to move in with us? I can fix up another room for you, if that's what you want. Give you your own space. Let's stop by yours and get your stuff now."

"Would it be okay to stay at yours? All the time? You and Joshua wouldn't mind?" she made herself sound eager. It was what she wanted but for so many reasons that she hadn't really given herself time to consider and weigh up the pros and cons, but for once, she was going to take a step closer to Alec. She didn't know if they'd work out as a couple, but friends they could definitely do now, even if she would like to try for more. She wasn't sure if he would ever want more. It wasn't like they'd had the easiest of starts, but they were both growing up, learning more about each other's worlds and in truth each other as well. She owed it to him to move closer, but not too push him too far yet. He needed time to heal and to grow and understand more of freedom and ultimately more of what it meant to have choice.

"We wouldn't mind. If you come now, I guess we could share again, but tomorrow I'll try and sort you out another room."

She smiled, pulling him into a hug and pressing a kiss to his cheek, she whispered, "Thank you."

# # #

_He was poised in the air above the water, shivering in the cold air, waiting in the darkness. He knew it was all done to keep him weak, keep him trying to obey commands and be the best he could in an attempt to earn some vestige of kindness . . . some respite from the pain. Yet none ever came. They hurt him and he did what they said, they threatened more pain if he didn't follow orders and so he obeyed. He couldn't imagine how things could get worse than they were, but he didn't dare take the risk of finding out._

_He had figured out that for the most part he was kept sedated, his body relaxed and so he trusted the tubes and wires, he trusted that he would be kept alive under the water . . . Maybe it wasn't trust, maybe it was just that the drugs they gave him kept him so removed from his own body that he didn't even know what they were doing to it. The drugs freed his mind, let it drift out and find 494, follow 494. Sometimes he saw the world through 494's eyes, through his thoughts and motivations, other times he was outside watching. He knew that was when 494, Alec, saw him . . . not him, 493. They weren't the same. Or at least he didn't think they were. He didn't remember his own designation, if he'd ever had one. He didn't remember a time when his life was anywhere but this darkened room with the machines and the tank of water._

_As he waited, he considered that allowing the drugs to wear off enough for him to become conscious while still underwater was deliberate, they wanted his panic, they wanted his suffering. They knew exactly what they were doing to him. Like the way his body was moved in and out of the water . . . that was deliberate too, the way the pole in the center of his back raised upward, pushing his body to its limit without breaking anything while keeping his legs and arms pinned down, then suddenly allowing them to raise and keep his body stable. It wasn't a glitch in the machinery, it was intentional._

_Like now, when they had raised him up from the water and then left him here to freeze in the chill breeze of moving air. He was pinned in the darkness waiting. . . Waiting for them to decide what to do to him next._

_He was theirs and there was nothing he could do about it and they would be back soon to find out what more he had learned._

# # #

Obsidian was perched on the side of a window balcony beyond the railings and out of sight of the apartment's inhabitants watching the world go by and waiting. Today's victim of justice would be a gang of steelheads who were holding up local liquor stores. About time someone started to deal with their ilk in Obsidian's opinion.

He wasn't in the mood for playing games tonight, figured he could be in and out and be home in time to grab some sleep before first light. He swung his legs back and forth waiting, hoping that they'd hurry up and turn up before it started to rain again. He was damp already from the last downpour and enough had soaked through his clothes that sitting there was unpleasant. Not that it was going to stop him. Nothing was going to stop Obsidian from completing this mission.

He saw the Steelheads approaching and let a feral grin spread across his face in eager anticipation. He took a few deep breaths to center himself and sat poised for action.

In typical Steelhead over acting, he saw them kick the door to the liquor store off of its hinges before heading inside shouting and raging about handing over the money. Obsidian counted to five giving all four of them time to get inside the store, then let himself drop cleanly from his perch to land on his feet and ran the short distance to the door.

He paused in the door for the fraction of a second it took to take in everyone's position, but he was moving again before anyone had realized he was there. His eyes gleamed as he launched himself at the first Steelhead grabbing him round the neck and using his body to support his own as he lifted himself off the ground, kicking the second in the face and knocking him out. Landing again, he braced himself as he pulled the Steelhead over his back, slamming him down on the floor and banging his head an extra time, just to make sure he was unconscious. "Oooh, that's gotta hurt," he laughed as he turned round to face the remaining two Steelheads.

"You do realize that you look stupid, Metalhead!" he sneered at the taller of the two. "Not that it matters. I guess it's not exactly what you'd call false advertizing now, is it?" With that, he bounced lightly on his toes and made as if he was about let fly with a punch, but instead he shifted his balance a fraction and kicked upward, catching the unsuspecting Steelhead under the chin and sending him flying backwards over the counter.

Turning to the final Steelhead, he bounced back and forth lightly, saying, "Come on. Come and play, little tin man!" He waved him forward, tauntingly. "You want to kill me. You know you do so come on!"

The final Steelhead seemed undecided, attention flitting between the cashier and Obsidian. For the moment, his gun was pressed to the cashier's temple but Obsidian could see him faltering, the temptation to turn on him clear. He sneered, "So what's with the bodily adornment? Don't you have to be careful round magnets?" He made a sucking sound and pulled his hand back gradually closing the fingers as if to mimic drawing something in. "Nope, you know what? You guys really do look stupid. There is no other way of putting it and any girl who thought that all that gadgetry was appealing needs her head seeing to. And they've sent me for psychiatric evaluations. Dude, they'd have had a field day with you!"

"Shut up!" the sole remaining Steelhead snapped.

Obsidian ignored him. "Do you agree with me?" he addressed his question to the terrified cashier. "Oh, hey, you can calm down because I'm not going to let him hurt you. That's a promise," he said sincerely.

"Don't make promises like that!" the Steelhead barked, drawing back the safety on the gun.

"You can't shoot him and me before I kill you," Obsidian said simply. "Which leaves you with the choice to either," he put up one finger, "shoot him and know that I'll kill you before you can even try to turn the gun on me, or," and he lifted a second finger, "try to shoot me before I kill you." He smiled evilly. "I guess there's always the third option of trying to shoot yourself and I don't think either of us would object to that if you wanted to try it, although I think he might prefer it if you let go of him first. Blood splatter can be really messy."

The cashier whimpered as the Steelhead tightened his grip round his neck, but turned the gun on Obsidian. "Yay! A decision! You're going for option number two! I like option number two!"

As the Steelhead pulled the trigger, Obsidian blurred to the side and back again, smiling broadly as the bullet slammed through the window behind him. "Missed me," he taunted.

The Steelhead gaped, glared and then pulled the trigger again, this time Obsidian jumped upward, clean above the line of fire and when he landed he was directly in front of the end of the gun. "Want a third try?" he asked drily, just ahead of punching the Steelhead in the face.

The cashier dropped to the floor, cowering behind the counter, while Obsidian gave a couple of extra blows to the Steelhead's face. He stood up, dusting off his gloves and turned to the cashier. "You got something to tie them up with?"

The cashier shook his head, still too terrified to speak. Obsidian sighed, "I should have kept some of those zip ties from the guy the other day. Who knew that I'd need to start carrying stuff like that around with me?" He seemed to think for a moment, then turned back to the cashier. "Okay, here's what we're going to do . . . you, my friend, are going to call the police and ask them to come and collect the intruders, you are then going to open the back door. I'll stay and look after these, making sure they stay unconscious until the police get here. Once they are here, I am going to slip away out the back and you are going to make sure that you keep the police talking long enough for me to get away. How does that sound?"

"But -"

"Ah-ah-ah," Obsidian warned. "That wasn't really a question. It was more of an . . . order. We're doing it my way, because you, my friend, are grateful for the help I've given you and you want me to be free to continue to help the honest, law-abiding citizens of our fair city. If I am still here when the police arrive, I'll get all bogged down in paperwork and technicalities and police resentment that I'm better at catching these criminals than they are and then where will we be? I won't be wandering the streets keeping our honest, law-abiding citizens as safe as I can. That's not what you want, is it?"

The cashier nodded and moved slowly and warily towards the telephone, which he then picked up and stammered out the request for help and the words Steelheads and robbery and hurry, please. Obsidian nodded approvingly, before bending down to shift the Steelheads closer together to make it easier to watch over them all. One of them started to stir and Obsidian punched him again, sending him swiftly back into oblivion.

The sound of sirens in the distance and Obsidian gave one last check that all of the Steelheads were still out before running out through the back door. He heard the cashier behind him as he ran down the street and when a quick glance back over his shoulder showed the man disappearing back inside the shop, he blurred, covering the distance at twice the speed before leaping upward and catching hold of a downpipe and scaling the building hand over hand. They'd never find him now, because up was the last direction they'd expect him to go.

# # #

"And in other news tonight, yet again a Seattle citizen has been saved by the man they are now dubbing the Nightwalker. This individual has now saved at least two individuals from attacks before the local police could come to their aid. In the first instance, a serial rapist who had persistently evaded detection by the police was caught by the Nightwalker in the act of breaking and entering with the intention of raping yet another victim. This time a group of Steelheads thought to have been responsible for the recent spate of liquor store robberies in the city were all taken down by what witness descriptions would indicate to be the same person."

"Nightwalker seems to make a habit, not only of solving crimes in advance of the police but also getting in on the action early enough to prevent any serious harm coming to the potential victims. How he manages to do this is as much of an unknown as the man's reasons for leaving before the police arrive."

"Coming next, an interview with the cashier saved by the Nightwalker and his opinion of the new avenging angel on our streets."

Clint threw another piece of popcorn at the TV screen while laughing hysterically. Steve was frowning at his antics, annoyed by the fact he found that Nightwalker's activities so amusing, although he wasn't certain of what specifically was so amusing.

"Tell me, my friend, what in this thou findst so amusing?" Thor asked him in consternation, to Steve's grateful relief.

"Nightwalker! Nightwalker! They called him Nightwalker the Avenging Angel; he sounds like a hooker or a stripper, not a superhero!" Clint was gasping for breath. "And seriously, a bunch of steelheads in a liquor store, those guys would have been distracted by all the pretty colors as the lights bounced through the bottles!" he sneered.

"Well, I'm sure you could have though t of a better name for him," Tony said drily. "And you also would have been able to take down the Steelheads unarmed despite the fact that they were. You wouldn't have had any problems with that and given that we're talking Steelheads, it's not in the least bit likely that they would have been hyped up on meth or anything now, is it, Hawkeye? And while we're on the subject, what kind of name is Hawkeye? One you picked? Or was it picked by some random journalist for you?"

"Hawkeye doesn't make me sound like I should be walking the streets plying my trade!" Clint snarked back. "Why so touchy on the subject, Stark?"

Tony ignored him completely, instead turning to Steve and saying, "Cap, got a minute?"

Steve was out of his seat and moving before Tony had finished speaking, certain that the summons had more to do with either the Nightwalker or with the Transgenics.

# # #

Steve followed Tony down to his workshop swiftly, taking his usual perch on the spare stool as Tony immediately started talking to Jarvis. "Jarvis, we need that security footage that you pulled from the liquor store in Seattle."

He turned back to Steve. "We were lucky. The store they hit was part of a chain and given the recent spate of incidents the chain had discreetly upgraded the system and so the footage was immediately recorded and sent to a central location. Makes it easy for Jarvis to snaffle that information out of the ether, into his files and put it up for our perusal. So," he waved at the image before them, "I was watching this earlier and our dear Nightwalker, which Clint is right sucks as a name, but don't tell him I said that, is shown in action. See this is the point when the Steelheads enter the store, note the unnecessary damage and the immediate resort to violence. Typical."

"Tony . . . what are Steelheads? Is that like a gang name?" Steve asked uncertainly. As Jarvis zoomed the image closer in, Tony winced at the look of sheer horror on Steve's face. "What on earth happened to them?" he gasped.

"Not sure you'd really say it _happened _to them. It's elective. I'm thinking it's kind of what they call a lifestyle choice," Tony said blandly. "Not everyone's taste and accompanying the large number of adornments tends to be ridiculous drug habits."

"They chose to have that done!"

"Yeah. I mean the ring of spikes coming out of your forehead, it's very Statue of Liberty, don't ya think? Very 2012."

"Why? What purpose does it serve?"

Tony had to admit he felt a certain degree of sympathy with Steve at this point. As far as lifestyle choices went, this was one even he couldn't begin to understand, Steve coming from the 1940s, when women maybe had a single earring in each ear, was kind of a leap beyond all expectation. "For the most part, none beyond aesthetics. Like I said choice. However, there are some other enhancements . . . Jarvis, zoom in on the cybernetics of the leader. If you look here," he pointed out the leader of the group's cybernetic arm, "That serves a very real purpose." The Steelhead was easily subduing the cashier on screen by applying the cybernetic hand to the cashier's throat without any thought.

"He was injured and they replaced a limb. It's impressive, a real shame that with that second chance he's been given, he turned to this life. I know many men who were injured in the war would have prayed for something like that."

Tony grimaced. "Cap," he said, moving closer, gripping the other man's shoulder. "Times have changed. I don't know about that guy there specifically, but some of those Steelheads had two perfectly working arms before having one replaced. They want the extra strength and power that comes with it.

Steve was speechless and Tony gave him a moment to gather himself before he had Jarvis start to play the recording and he began to point out Nightwalker. "Watch him in action. You see the guns, the knives. He isn't afraid, but he is methodical and quick. Jarvis, replay from just before Nightwalker comes in but at one-eighth speed. Watch him. There is a split second in the door where he pauses and looks round, analyzing the opposition, then he moves and have you ever seen anyone move like that, fight like that? I have. I've only seen one type of person able to fight like that -"

"Natasha?" Steve suggested.

Tony let a sharp bark of laughter, "Good one, Cap, but no, not Natasha. Although at this speed, it does bear certain traits that are reminiscent of our very own Black Widow, but remember this is being played at one-eighth of the actual speed at which it happened. Jarvis, again at actual speed." Tony fell quiet as the two of them watched the scene again and saw Nightwalker literally dodge bullets. "Nightwalker is a Transgenic. It's the only possible explanation for that," Tony said plainly.

Steve nodded slowly, "You're probably right. I still don't understand why he would do this under the circumstances, but it would explain why he is always so eager to leave before the police get there. If they found out he was a Transgenic, there's no telling what they would do. I get the impression they might arrest him as well."

"At the least," Tony agreed.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm hoping people are enjoying this and that I'm doing the right thing in keeping posting at this point._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Max had been surprised at Alec's determination to get her moved in and comfortable. She'd woken up alone again, but this time after her shower as she'd wandered into the main living area of the apartment, she heard both Alec and Joshua talking. She didn't know what it said about her, but she'd never slept as well as she did here in Alec's apartment, in his bed. She tried to think of reasons why that might be the case. In the end the only really viable reason she could come up with was the reduced diet had left her needing more sleep, any other reasons like the warm safe feeling she had when she woke were too ridiculous to even begin to contemplate.

"Morning, guys," she greeted, pleased to see Joshua smiling back at her.

"Morning, little Fella. Roomie?" Joshua said nodding. "Alec and I fixing up. Make it ready soon. You good with Alec for now?"

"So long as Alec doesn't mind," she agreed, looking across at Alec and taking note of his intense concentration on his task as well as the dark shadows under his eyes. She moved to his side, "Hey, you. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Huh? Yeah, some," he said. "Not that tired, really. I found some stuff that we could use in here to make it nicer for you." He pointed at some pots of paint and a chest of drawers that hadn't been there the day before. "I don't know how good the bed was at your old place, whether you want to bring it here, otherwise I found something but I couldn't move it on my own. You could take a look later and if you like it we'll move it down. I thought about going to your place and packing up for you, but wasn't sure you'd appreciate that."

"Where did you find all of this then?" she asked, making sure she was smiling and her tone was light, despite her worry at how tired he looked.

"Oh, there's still stuff in some of the abandoned buildings. One was a paint factory, so I guess you get a choice of colors. If you don't like these, I can take you down and you can see what you prefer from what's there."

"What did you choose?"

"Ummm, purple kinda," he frowned at the tins as if not sure how to describe the color. "And umm, creamy-white." He shrugged, then added, "Joshua said he could mix the two if you wanted and it would make a lighter version of the purple." He looked uncertain and she stepped into hug him. One of his arms came round her shoulders pulling her close for an instant, but she noticed the tension in how he held himself.

She shifted to his side, kept one arm round him and leaned against him lightly. "Have you two eaten breakfast yet?" she asked, deliberately looking at Joshua.

"Not yet. Max want something?" Joshua asked.

"Why don't I get breakfast as the two of you have been working on so much stuff for me already this morning?" She felt Alec twitch beside her, hold himself rigid as if he wanted to pull away and she wondered how long it would be before food was no longer an issue for him, how long before the memory of what he'd had to go through faded enough to let him really recover. She rubbed her hand in the small of his back, hoping he would begin to relax a little.

"We don't expect you to cook," Alec said nervously. "We manage. . ."

"I know you manage and I know you're not going to expect me to do this all the time, but today, I'm the last one up and by the looks of things the two of you have been working on stuff for me . . . this is me pulling my weight today to say thank you."

It didn't take her long to rustle something up from the supplies in the kitchen, while contemplating trying to get hold of some sort of recipe book so between them they could try to muster up a little more variety in what they made with the same ingredients. It wasn't like she could really expect Alec or Joshua to have had much experience with cooking and it wasn't one of her better skills. Conversation was easier over breakfast as they talked about the things they needed to fetch from Max's old place and things that Alec had found on his reconnaissance trips around Terminal City that he thought she might want to add to her room, a mirror, a small desk, not exactly a dressing table but something that might suffice, a locker he'd put downstairs that she could use as a wardrobe. She was touched, it was a lot more than he'd done for his own room, and much more than she expected.

"You know you don't have to do all this. I wasn't expecting this," she said.

He shrugged, "It's not a problem. If you're here to stay, we should make it comfortable."

She smiled and leaned round the corner of the table to press a kiss to his cheek. He blushed. "It's nothing, Max, really. I owe you for," he paused, seemed to think before adding, "everything."

# # #

The day was for the most part a slow one at Command Center. Slow but filled with lots of ridiculously small and petty arguments. Alec seemed to bear the brunt of it, stepping in any time someone started to get out of hand, shouting at Luke or Max.

Max was worried for him. He hadn't slowed down, hadn't left the building at all during the day and had taken on some of the burliest X5s she'd seen so far. She was glad that Mole had turned up at that point, because for all of his strength and his speed, Alec was lithe and athletic but slender by comparison with the more muscle-bound and sheer aggression of some of the X5s. To her mind it must be daunting, but he didn't falter, didn't show a hint of fear.

His skin seemed to get sallower, the shadows below his eyes deeper and darker as the day wore on and when Mole cornered her downstairs and said, "Just take him home and get him to sleep!", she did just that.

She called it a day, grabbed her own bag and tossed his at him, declaring a need to see how Joshua had been getting on. As they climbed the stairs to their apartment, he staggered slightly into the wall. A step or two behind, she reached up to steady him, watched as he took a few deep breaths before carrying on.

They were both surprised by how little Joshua had got done, but while Max wasn't worried, Alec started to promise her that he would work on it, get it done for her quickly. She stopped him, steadied him as he wavered again and led him away to the kitchen. She handed him off a few small jobs as they worked together to make another meal. She knew he was seeing Ben by the way his eyes flitted from the same spot and back to what he was doing or to her, over and over again. But beyond the watching, he was ignoring Ben and so she didn't say anything about it.

After they had eaten the two of them sat for a while in front of the TV, until Max turned it off, noticing how agitated he was becoming at any mention of the Avengers or of somebody they were calling Nightwalker. "I'm tired," she said, hoping he would follow her lead, but when he nodded and wished her goodnight, she sighed and tried again. "Alec, will you get some sleep too?"

He looked round the room as if trying to come up with a reason to say no, but when nothing came to mind, he did as she asked. He was sitting on the side of the bed when she made it back into the room, his clothes piled neatly beside the door as if he were intending sneaking out as soon as she was asleep.

She knelt behind him, laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "Does it bother you that I'm here? Would you rather I slept on the couch?"

"No," he whispered back, turning to look at her and there was something in his eyes that she wished she understood, but instead he lay down. She lay alongside, propped up on her elbow so she could see his face, her free hand resting on his stomach.

Quietly she asked, "Is Ben bothering you a lot?"

He startled, eyes wide and fearful, pulling away from her a fraction until she rubbed her hand in a circle over his stomach trying to calm him. "I'm ignoring him. I know he's not real," he said with false bravado. "I'm not going to hurt anyone . . . or - or not anyone who-"

It hurt. It hurt to realize just how much pain he was in because of Ben, so she cut him off, fingers gentle over his lips to stop the words as she shifted closer. "You're not turning into him, Alec. You're not going to be like him. Believe in yourself, your strength, your goodness," she whispered, wishing she could force that into him, like Manticore had forced so many other things into him. In trying to make sure he was not going to go rogue like Ben, they'd forced him to be terrified of his own potential, terrified of what he might do. Contrary to their designs with their reindoctrination techniques, they hadn't made him stronger, not in their terms anyway, they'd made him fallible, more human. They'd made him feel.

She'd wondered about trying to find an X5 from Psy-Ops, wondered if they could work on Alec to counter everything that had been done, but her heart stopped her. It left Alec vulnerable to someone knowing just what he was fighting with, weakened the hold he had over their people and she needed his hold; her own was too tenuous, it was only together that she could understand and that they could overcome and move forward.

Also she knew from Alec's own experience, Psy-Ops veneers were fragile, likely to break at unexpected moments as his own had done when faced with Rachel Berrisford's memory.

Her thoughts went again to the medical supplies, to the drugs that stopped hallucinations, but none of them knew whether that would help. Alec didn't seem to know what he'd been given before, and nor had Adam. There was no telling whether anything she gave him from their supplies would help at all, or whether he could only be helped by Manticore's lost compounds.

She shifted closer, tucking herself inside the curve of his arm, resting her head on his chest and pushing her hand further over his stomach to hold him close.

"Maxie? What are you doing?" he asked warily.

"Getting ready to sleep," she answered simply, hiding a smile against his chest. "Relax, I'm not going to ravage you in your sleep."

He laughed; it was short and sharp but genuine and for that she was thankful. He relaxed a little and she trailed the hand that was draped over him, up and down his side, hoping to soothe him into rest quicker, but suddenly his hand clamped over hers. "Stop it! It tickles!" he groused.

"Sorry," she whispered and instead caught his hand in hers and entwined their fingers. She was determined that he wasn't going to make it out of bed without her knowing, so that at the very least she would know how long he slept. She stilled and relaxed, hoping he would go to sleep soon.

She felt as the exhaustion overwhelmed him, as little by little his body gave way to the need for sleep until he fell into an uneasy slumber. She allowed herself to relax enough to doze, to catnap, alert enough that if he stirred she would wake.

It was a difficult night as she listened to him mutter, heard snatches of words as he told Ben to leave him alone or begged Lydecker to make some half-remembered pain stop. He jerked awake more than once and tried to get up, only stilling and remaining in place when she insisted, ignoring the way he looked at his watch, the way he said, "I need to- I have to-", only subsiding when she made it clear she wasn't letting him go anywhere.

She wondered what it was he felt like he needed to do, what was more important than getting at least some sleep. The first time he'd woken had been barely an hour and a half after falling asleep and she'd been really worried by how anxious he was to get up and leave, but she'd held on, determined that he would get the rest she was sure he needed and promising herself that she would make time to go and speak to Adam the following morning to find out how much sleep they really did need.

Every time he fell back asleep, there would be a brief time when it seemed like all energy had deserted him and his body would go completely lax, but then the tension would creep back in, the muttering would restart and then eventually he would jerk awake again, checking his watch and trying to get up until giving in to her insistence to stay where he was and try to rest.

It was almost five in the morning when he woke again, eyes wild and hands clenched into fists and she was about to give in, to let him get up when she saw him checking his watch again, but he looked at it, sighed and laid back down with another whispered apology before rolling onto his side and pulling her closer, and curling round as if protecting her before falling into a deep sleep. She fell back to sleep too, surprised to be woken by sunlight through the window and with Alec still deeply asleep beside her.

With some difficulty she managed to slide out of the bed and pull on clothes before going out into the rest of the apartment to find Joshua. She found him in the room that was to be hers, paintbrush in hand. One wall was almost completely painted in a rich purple. "Joshua," she said softly.

He turned and smiled, waving at the wall, "Max like?"

She smiled, "Yeah, but . . ."

"Oh!" His face fell in disappointment clearly expecting her to say she wanted it changed.

"Joshua, it's not that. The color is lovely . . . but can you slow down with it?" She responded to his frown by moving closer and dropping her voice, "Alec - Alec is sleeping really badly, I kind of want to stay with him for a while to see if I can help him get through this."

"Alec not really sleeping at all. Until last night. Alec goes out normally, doesn't come back till sun almost up."

"Really? Where does he go?"

"Don't know. Joshua doesn't ask any more because Alec gets upset, angry. Joshua and Alec friends, roomies. Joshua want to stay friends. Alec dealing with a lot, not like other X5s, Alec tries not to hurt people, only hurts himself."

"What do you mean?"

"Alec fights with wall," he waved to the wall in the living area that still bore the brunt of the damage. "Alec afraid of the dark inside, of Manticore inside. Alec tries hard to be like a good person, doesn't believe that he is good though."

"But he is," Max agreed.

"Alec not see that. Alec see only what Manticore made him do, only what Ben did. Joshua think Alec trying to be good for Ben and self, trying to make better Ben's bad things and his own. Alec not bad. Alec too good for Manticore."

The sound of the door to Alec's room opening and Alec coming out in just his boxers and a t-shirt, looking sleepy with his hair disheveled was enough to stop the conversation. Max turned towards Alec, smiling as he yawned and rubbed his eyes, before crossing the room and hugging him. He accepted the embrace for a bare second before pushing her away awkwardly. "Er, Max, what's that for?"

"Being you," she smiled.

He looked completely disconcerted. "Being me? Right. . . You sick?" he asked. He carefully walked round her keeping his distance. "I need coffee, maybe then that'll make sense." He walked into the kitchen, giving Joshua a wary look as if afraid he too might decide to start hugging him. "Why'd you let me sleep so late anyway?" he asked as he started to boil water.

"You looked like you needed it and it's not like we're in a rush to do anything today. In fact I figured we'd maybe check in at command center, get the last of my things and then call it a day given that we're going on that raid tonight."

"I'll maybe head back to Command Center once we've got your stuff, there's some more things I can check on," he sounded defensive, so she decided to back off for the time being, leave him to make his own decisions for the moment, although she wasn't above using a little guilt later to make sure he got some rest before they headed out for the raids.

# # #

Max followed Alec, keeping low out of sight as they approached the outlying buildings. The team had separated into pairs, each approaching from a different angle, each targeting a different set of supplies. Apart from the security guards patrolling outside, there was little danger inside. Max didn't know how Alec had come by the information, but supposedly everyone in this particular depot, except for security took the same thirty minute break on the night-shift. It made their job relatively speaking easy. Thirty minutes was more than long enough for the Transgenics to accomplish their goal, providing they could all skirt the security guards.

Max waited for Alec's signal to move, realizing that she liked this. When she'd been in her unit back at Manticore, Zach had always had the final say, and she'd always responded well to that, knowing she could speak her mind but that someone else would still tell her what to do. It was a long time since she'd had that, and something she'd fought against ever being willing to accept again; yet here and now, she felt liberated by it. She wondered what that said about her . . . or maybe it said more about Alec . . . or her relationship with Alec.

"Okay?" he mouthed back at her and she smiled, warmed by his concern. She nodded and on his signal the two of them moved

He timed it well. Their entrance was completely unhindered by security and it was a matter of moments before he'd jimmied the lock on the door and had them both inside. They quickly scanned the stacks of boxes, each prioritizing in their own mind what would be best to take.

"Rice and pasta," she said to him, reassured when he nodded in response.

"Not exactly the most appetizing on their own, but they'll store well and they're good staples," he looked resigned and she squeezed his arm in reassurance. He nodded again. "Okay, you get the boxes down and stacked by the door. As many as you can, as quickly as you can. I'll get them outside and across the lot and beyond the fence. That way we can both be out of here before anyone gets back."

She knew it made sense, but she couldn't resist saying, "Be careful, Alec. Please. Don't take any foolhardy risks." She caught his arm, pulling him round to look at her, only marginally reassured by his grin and the accompanying wink.

He seemed to sense her discomfort and relented, pulling her closer, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her hair, before murmuring, "Trust me, Maxie."

She hugged him in return, saying, "I do," and with that the two of them separated and set to work, Alec grabbing the two closest boxes and already heading out of the door as Max picked up the next one and carried it over to the door.

After twenty minutes, Alec came back in, told her to stop and that he was going to head out with another load, she should take what she could and make her own way across and if the way was clear he would return for the final two boxes, but he didn't want to cut it too fine. They were better to get out with what they had and be safe than risk another load.

She agreed, setting down the box she'd been about to lift and instead taking one from the pile by the door. He picked up two and led the way outside. Eyeing the guards, he sent her running, pausing a moment before following her. As they reached the final fence, he threw his boxes over smoothly and then hoisted her up and over before turning back to go on the final run.

She stood anxiously watching, knowing that she should be collecting up everything they'd carried out and beginning to move it to the pick up point, but unable to turn away from watching for Alec's return. She saw him come out, saw him watching for the security, saw him begin his run. He was slower than he'd been earlier and she felt her heart in her throat until he was close enough to throw the boxes over and she saw him prepare for his own leap. He was safe. She felt herself begin to relax a little.

It was a mistake as she saw that he hadn't cleared the fence, one foot tangling in the barbed wire at the top.

# # #

Everything seemed to slow down, running half speed as she saw Alec's face register the wire, grab for the nearest pole dividing the fence sections and attempt to heave himself higher. She saw as the barbs ripped into his trousers, knew without doubt from the look on his face that at least some had dug deeper, going through the material to dig into his skin. She knew he was lucky he'd been close enough and had reacted to the first catch by grabbing the pole. If he hadn't, he'd have been pulled in completely tangled.

As it was the only thing keeping him from that was the way he hung on to the pole, keeping his upper body clear. She saw determination set into his features as he suddenly wrenched one leg free. She saw the grimace of pain, the way his eyes closed and he almost lost his hold. She didn't know what to do to help. She could climb up and try to untangle his other leg, but it would likely be a long slow process and they didn't have time. She saw him bite his lip, already bracing himself for pain as he flipped himself, diving over the fence, ripping the remaining leg free and heading for the ground headfirst, tilting into a roll at the last moment to break his fall.

"Alec!" she hissed, diving down to his side, even as he began to push himself up. "Wait!" He staggered to his feet, face ghostly in the dim light. He wobbled for an instant, leaned against the pile of boxes to the side and drew in a deep breath, before turning to pick up a box without a word and starting to move to their pick up point.

She grabbed the next box from the pile and hurriedly set off in pursuit. His steps were stilted and he was unable to hide the pain from his eyes, although he still hadn't made a sound. She knew that the fact that he had only picked up one box spoke volumes, despite his own silence.

Putting the box down hidden behind the low brush, he turned and started back. As Max followed suit, she saw him stagger and barely catch himself against a tree, before pushing onward again. She hurried to his side, tried to stop him, surprised when he turned to her and said, "Max, don't. We need the supplies, we can't fail on this, so don't do this. Don't try to . . ."

"Alec! You're worth more than a few supplies," she tried to insist.

"No, Max. No one is more important than the mission," he snapped, turning back to push through the pain and fetch more of the boxes. She rushed after him, wincing in sympathy as he made himself pick up two of the boxes and tackle the return journey over the uneven ground at a faster pace ignoring his pain.

She knew he'd pushed himself into a mindset where he was ignoring the pain, knew that forcing him to face the reality of his injuries wasn't going to do either of them any good at this point in time, but it was frightening to watch and hearing him saying that no one was more important than the mission chilled her to the bone. How deeply had Manticore implanted those beliefs? Would she ever be able to convince him of anything different?

# # #

There was only one box left to collect; Max tried to convince Alec to wait with the boxes they'd already moved, knowing the truck was due to pick them up any time, while she returned for the final box.

He just shrugged her off, pushing her away with such hurt in his eyes that she couldn't fight him on it. She sat down and waited, thoughts going over what had happened, where they'd gone wrong. She knew they hadn't, not really. The only mistake had been in overestimating just how much Alec was ready to do.

The truck pulled up alongside her and Adam hopped out opening up the rear doors and then coming back to help her start to transfer the boxes inside. His companion remained in the driver's seat with the engine running so that they could make a quick exit if anyone else happened along the currently deserted road.

"Where's Alec?" Adam asked as they returned for more boxes. "You've got quite the haul here!"

"He's gone back for the last box," she said.

Adam obviously caught more from her tone of voice than she had necessarily intended as he frowned at her, only to turn away as Alec came out of the trees. He staggered slightly and Max threw the box she was holding into the back of the truck and blurred to Alec's side, slipping an arm around him and trying to support his weight as Adam rushed across to join them and to take the box from Alec's arms.

They made it across to the truck and Max guided Alec to sit, looking at him with deep concern. Sweat beaded his brow, his eyes looked slightly unfocussed and Max could feel the heat burning off him. He breathed deeply a few times then started to push himself up as if to join Adam who had continued pushing the boxes into the back of the truck alongside him.

"No, Alec, just rest. Job's almost done and then we're off, so why don't you just get settled in the back and we'll be fine," she urged.

He seemed about to fight, but then conceded without a word, moving to the back awkwardly and trying to settle himself into the corner out of the way.

As Adam set the last box inside, he looked at her and nodded to the front passenger seat and when she started to object, he said, "I'll see to him. Trust me."

His tone was unequivocal, and despite the desire to ignore him, she thought better of it and left him to climb in with Alec. She didn't see Alec again until they got back to their drop off point, despite them having stopped two more times to pick up other supply loads from the other groups within the team. As they had made the journey she had heard a lot of movement in the rear of the truck and wondered what they were doing, but when they pulled up and she saw as Alec and half of the team were left behind with about three quarters of the supplies, she knew they'd been deciding what out of the supplies would be taken into Terminal City immediately and which would be stored to be brought in later. She stayed with the team members still in the truck, to assist them in transferring the boxes to their supply hoard away from Terminal City and in dumping the truck. It would take them another couple of hours at least, so it was a relief to her at least to see Alec taking charge of the team left behind, knowing that he would be home and would be able to clean himself and take proper care of the wounds from the barbed wire.

It was at least a little consolation for her.

# # #

Obsidian leaned against the wall, out of sight, grateful for the support it provided. He was tired, but he needed to be here. He hoped it wouldn't take too long to get the job done. Drugs . . . the plague of modern society apparently. Well, when modern society wasn't being plagued by aliens, terrorists, unemployment and oh, yeah, Transgenics. Still it would be enough for one night to take out the dealers who normally hung on the next corner down.

He heard movement, saw the gang settle into their positions, guards, leader and the guys who did the transactions, six in all. As they moved, he analyzed each one of them, trying to detect the tell tale signs of weaponry. He made out the outline of two guns under the jackets of two of the guards, so figured he could assume the third was similarly armed. He waited a little longer observing, saw the slight hitch in two of the men's stride and smirked to himself. Amateurs. If they couldn't even work out how to strap a knife to their lower legs without impeding their own movement, this was going to be easier than he thought.

He watched the leader for a moment or two, felt a moment's relief that none of them were Steelheads. He didn't really feel up to facing a gang of Steelheads tonight; what they lacked in intelligence, they tended to make up for in the stubborn belief that they were stronger than anyone else. These guys would be relying on the weapons and, failing that, their numbers.

Obsidian looked upward. Everything was in place for an upward escape from his current position. He took a breath and stepped out into the open. He kept his head down and his hood up, making himself look as vulnerable and strung out as he could as if he was desperate for a fix. He edged forward, up to the first of the guards.

"Got - got some stuff, man?" he asked, voice deliberately thin and shaky. "I need some stuff, man. I got money." He let himself stagger carelessly into the guard, using the moment's imbalance to lift the gun from under the man's jacket, letting it vanish into the large pocket at the front of his hoodie.

The guard pushed him away impatiently. "Idiot! Fuck off! Pull yourself together and look where you're going. Go see him," he snapped, pointing at the nearer of the actual dealers. "Get out of my space before I really hurt you!" He shoved Obsidian backward, watched him stagger and lose his balance, falling to the floor.

Obsidian rolled over, deliberately awkward, wincing as the injuries he'd got before made themselves known. He staggered to his feet, lurched over to the second guard, hand in his pocket so that as he stumbled he could draw it out. Losing the act, he moved closer, grabbing the second guy around the neck and shooting him at close range before spinning him round and using his body as a shield as he aimed for the third guard, shooting and taking him down quickly. The first roared in rage as he realized that the weapon Obsidian was wielding was his own. He took off at a run heading for Obsidian. Sidestepping again, Obsidian kept the deadweight of the second guard between them as he raised the gun again and fired. The first shot hit the oncoming man in the shoulder but didn't stop him. He fired again, this time hitting him in the center of the forehead. The guard dropped to the floor and Obsidian took his first proper look at the rest of the gang.

The two dealers were panicking, clearly unsure which direction to run in. The leader had no such qualm. Shoving the other two out of the way, he was running in the opposite direction to that from which Obsidian had appeared. At least he showed a sliver of common sense but, Obsidian figured, not for long. He dropped the second guard, lifted the gun and aimed carefully, taking enough time to ensure that he had the exact movement of the target before he fired.

The man screamed in pain as his knee exploded beneath him, plunging him to the ground. Obsidian looked up at the final two men and said, "Want some?" Both shook their heads frantically, hands raising up in surrender.

Obsidian laughed and gestured with the gun to move the two of them together. "Down! There!" he snapped, gesturing for one of the men to kneel next to a drainpipe. The leader was still rolling around in agony wailing further up the street, but for the moment Obsidian ignored him. "You here," he pointed at his own feet and the man came over obediently, terror clear on his face. Obsidian patted him down, removing a knife and pocketing it. He gestured to the drainpipe and then had the other man stand. He repeated the process finding a single knife on him as well.

With both men on the ground again, he pulled plastic ties from his pocket, tying the two of them together behind the drainpipe. He then crossed the road and dragged the leader back across to where he had the first two tied. He dropped him to the floor and quickly checked him over before smiling evilly and grabbing his hands tying them together and pulling them up over his head, ignoring his cries of pain. He yanked the man upward to his feet and slipped another tie behind the drainpipe above one of the clips that held the pipe in place, preventing the man dropping back to the floor.

He stepped back and dusted his hands off. "Oh yeah, one more thing to do," he said, lifting the man's phone from his pocket and dialing 911. "I'd like to report a crime," he began.

When he hung up, he said, "Oh and tell them, Nightwalker is not my name. Dark Obsidian is the name and . . . they're welcome."

He turned and ran down the street, vanishing round a corner out of sight. A few paces down the street, he grabbed hold of the rope he had left there earlier and began to scale the building hand over hand, pulling himself upward as quickly as he could. Reaching the top he pulled the rope up and coiled it up, draping it over his shoulder before retrieving the rest of the equipment he'd used to keep it secure.

Minutes later, with the sound of sirens finally approaching the scene below, he left, vanishing into the night silently.

# # #

"And so it appears that the Nightwalker has struck again in the city of Seattle. This time he single-handedly took down a gang of drug-dealers, leaving two seriously injured, two dead and two tied up for the sector police before putting in a 911 call for the police to attend the scene of the crime. Police are no nearer identifying who this mystery person is or how they have been able to overcome the individuals we have heard of so far. Police are asking for witnesses or other people with information to come forward as they would like to track down this vigilante before he has chance to carry out any further acts such as this. It is time he was brought to justice."

Tony, who had been leaning on the back of the chair he had brought down to the workshop for Steve as they watched the news report, turned and stamped across the room slamming a few tools down and banging pieces of metal around.

"Tony?" Steve had followed him. He stopped still, leaning against the workbench, head dropping down as he breathed deeply. "Tony?" Steve settled beside him. "What are you thinking?"

"Justice!" Tony snapped. "They want to bring him to justice - he's the one protecting the innocent civilians and they want to bring him to justice! Does that sound right to you?"

"No," Steve said quietly, "I'm not sure that the way he's doing this is right, but I don't think he needs bringing to justice. That was some feat though, to take down six men. The police don't seem to have any ideas who he is though."

"I wonder about that . . ." Tony seemed to be thinking. "Why would they be so determined to 'bring him to justice' if they hadn't at least got the suspicion that he was a Transgenic. I think they are beginning to put the pieces together with what he's able to do and how quickly he manages to vanish afterwards."

"How do you think he's getting away so quickly afterwards? They have hoverdrones in Seattle, don't they? And yet he isn't being picked up by any of them . . . Can Transgenics move quicker than that?"

"That's a good point, and as far as I know, they can't move quick enough to avoid detection by any sort of camera. So . . . Jarvis, security footage from Seattle's hoverdrones in the area of last night's incident . . . how long would you need for that?"

"I shall get onto it immediately, sir and get back to you shortly with a projected time," the AI replied smoothly.

"Good, right." He tapped away at the screen and got up maps of the surrounding area. "Right," he said again. "This is where it went down," he continued at the same time as flailing out and grabbing hold of Steve's arm to pull him closer. "According to the earlier report about it, the gang were known to hang out on this corner, they had a regular time and a pretty regular clientele apparently, some of whom are none too happy about their demise, although some of the locals are pretty relieved and feel a lot happier that they've gone and are hoping nobody else sets up shop in the area to take their place. I guess that's the downside to vigilante acts like this. It takes out only part of the problem, doesn't really solve the issue. Anyway, this is the map of the area, so where would you head if you wanted to stay out of sight?"

Steve leaned in closer, tracing some of the streets with his finger. "A lot of these lead away from that area, but they lead into what looks to be a main thoroughfare. Would he be able to head that way and blend in?"

Tony hummed as he considered the possibility. "Which would be the best way back to Terminal City from there?" he murmured, tapping at the screen again and changing the image to encompass more of the city. "Not particularly close. He's not working in the immediate vicinity of that. . ."

"Tony, he's not going to be able to just walk in and out of Terminal City. The boundaries are under guard, surely."

"Another good point. . . Okay, Jarvis? Can you add to this the location of the other 'Nightwalker' incidents?" Dots appeared on the screen. "And the sector divisions for Seattle as well?"

"Every one of them is in a different sector. Why would he do that?"

"Why would he do that?" Tony echoed thoughtfully. "One possibility is that he wants these events to be noticed and to make the news and that he's trying to act in every sector so that when he's finally caught and they finally work out he's Transgenic, he's worked as many areas as possible to improve the public image."

"Also if he continually acts in different sectors it would make it harder for the police to track him down. Every time he's gone for a different type of crime, a different area of the city, the police aren't going to be able to put a fix on where he'll be next."

Tony nodded. "Except if he keeps this up, he's narrowing down where he'll be next. Seattle has ten sectors. He has already acted in three of them. If he's trying to do something in all of them, he has seven left to go, then six, then five. Every time, the area he's going to act in gets smaller, his chances of getting caught get exponentially bigger."

"Maybe we're jumping to conclusions too early. I mean yes, he's acting deliberately in different sectors, but that doesn't mean he'll do all ten without any repeats. Surely if he's got the intelligence and training they're supposed to have, he'd know better than to do that."

"We have to hope so at this point. Unless . . ."

"Unless what, Tony?"

"Unless we go out there and drop in on Terminal City and scope the place out, the people out. We could take some supplies even. Make a statement. If we're serious about this?"

Steve looked concerned. "I do want to make a statement. . . This is wrong . . . What happens afterwards though? Are we actually going in there to offer them anything useful? It's not like we can just set them free, because they'll just be hunted down."

"We offer them supplies, whatever they need for as long as they need it."

"Tony," Steve met his eyes with deep concern. "I - I'm worried that we couldn't give them that, you couldn't give them that. If we go in and take them what supplies we can, that's one thing. If we go in and set up a regular supply chain, where's the money coming from for that?"

"Billionaire philanthropist - remember?"

Steve smiled sadly, "But not for long if you do something like this, something so blatantly against what the public and military currently want to accept. Stark Industries won't last under that sort of disapproval and once Stark Industries has gone, where do we get the money from then to keep up the supplies."

"So you're suggesting we turn our back and ignore it?"

"No . . . I'm suggesting that we think more carefully about it. Maybe if I went, without you, it could be our secret that Stark is funding it. We could try to keep it below the radar. If people don't know it's happening, they won't have anything to object to."

"Nice idea, Cap, but see everybody knows you don't have that kind of money, so the first question they're going to ask is where you're getting the money from and the first answer they're going to come up with is me. And much as it would be nice to keep it under the radar, how do you suggest we shift that many supplies in and out without anyone outside noticing? We've got to get it inside somehow and that means breaching their perimeter. If we drive up to the gates, the military are going to stop us. If we chopper in, there's no saying there'll be anywhere to land, and we don't want to give anyone else any ideas about how they might make it into the compound. I can't figure out why they haven't tried it already to be honest with you. I suppose there's also the possibility of the chopper being shot down by one or other side, either the military on the outside or the Transgenics on the inside if they thought we were attacking."

"We need to think some more then and actually come up with something that stands a chance of working."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Alec was sat forward, eyes frighteningly intense as he stared at the TV they were all watching. Max wanted to do something, anything, that might break his concentration enough to bring back the Alec she thought she had been getting to know. This Alec was too focused, it was hard to imagine what he might do.

On the screen, something they were calling 'Doombots' were rampaging through the streets, seemingly under the direction of one man dressed in black with a metallic face shield. Dr Doom they were calling him and he was challenged by a group the reporters were referring to as the Fantastic Four. Max had never had a huge amount of time for news reports for anywhere outside Seattle and even then it was fleeting, only really paying attention to it to the extent it was going to affect her own life. To her mind, they had enough problems of their own without worrying about anyone else's. Living with Alec and Joshua though, she was beginning to see how they were both fascinated with finding out about the rest of the world. She supposed she could understand it. Alec though seemed to be too invested in the supposed 'superheroes' that made it into the news. She'd watch him change as more and more information came out about them. She had seen him move from being relatively relaxed to, as he was now, leaning forward, shoulders hunched, hands in fists with his finger nails pressing into his palm. She knew from how many times they'd already been through this that by the time the report had finished there would be indentations across his palm from how tightly he had pressed his nails in.

She reached out to run a hand through his hair in the hope of distracting him and he jerked in surprise, eyes flaring wide in alarm for an instant before he registered it was her and apologized. She curled closer to him, feeling a little easier when he lifted his arm and let her settle against his side. She could feel as his breathing grew deeper and more even. "What are you thinking, Alec?" she asked gently.

"Why are they so willing to accept them but not us?"

She didn't have an answer that he'd want to hear. "Because they were human first? Because we were created for war and only that."

"Is that all we are?" he murmured. "Can't we learn to be better than that?"

"Of course we can. Most of us always have been better, but they don't know that. Look at us, Alec, we are building a community here . . . not just you and me, but all of us together. We're learning new skills and fending for ourselves. We are creating a world they never dreamed of, without violence and bloodshed."

"Not without bloodshed," he corrected. "Not without stealing and lying and -"

She cut him off. "We've instigated none of the bloodshed and they are the ones that left us with no choice but to steal to survive. We're willing to work, willing to earn our way, but they aren't giving us that chance."

He sighed, his head dropping back against the cushions, his gaze lazily following the events on screen. The news report changed from the view on the street to an in-studio commentary on the major participants. Introducing each of the so-called Fantastic Four in turn and talking about their skills and their history, how they became superheroes, what they'd done before. An image of each flashed onto the screen as the newscaster talked about the individual. Max's attention was drifting away again as her head rested against Alec's chest, one ear filled with the steady thrum of his heartbeat, his fingers unconsciously coasting up and down her arm. She was caught off-guard when Alec suddenly tensed again. She opened her eyes and saw a man on the screen, he looked vaguely familiar but she was ready to dismiss it as having seen similar reports so often on the news.

"He looks just like him!" Alec said awed. "They're Transgenics. They have to be. Clones - this is all just lies!"

Max pulled herself to sit more upright, looking at him in confusion. "What?"

"Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. He looks just like him."

"He looks like who?" she asked, still baffled.

"Look! Him, he looks just like the one they call Captain America, the one they 'found' in the ice."

Max realized that Alec was right, the reason he looked familiar was not because she'd seen this set of superheroes before, but because they had seen someone who looked almost identical. Alec's assumption that they were Transgenics might not be right, but there was definitely something very strange in the whole deal.

As the image on screen changed again to show a woman, they both gasped. Max's doubts about them being Transgenics fled as she saw the woman staring back at her, almost identical in features to herself, only her hair was different.

# # #

Life in Terminal City was settling into a routine. Max and Alec would spend most of the day at the Command Center dealing with all sorts of minutiae that they had never dreamed of before. Alec had lists of the manpower available within their City and had started work gangs, each given a specific set of tasks to work on, whether it was renovation and conversion of buildings to make them into 'homes' or clearing streets to make them look better but also ridding the area of as much of the unhealthy trash as they could, others cleared sewers so the old drainage networks would begin to work again. He had teams working on connecting more buildings to the electricity and water systems they had set up.

The whole of Terminal City was becoming habitable slowly. There was a nagging doubt at the back of Alec's mind that all that meant was someone would come and take it away from them; angry that they'd made something out of the nothing. And that was the truth of it. Everything, except their food and medical supplies, came from what had been abandoned within Terminal City itself. They had scavenged and repurposed everything they could as they reclaimed more of the area. They'd gradually spread themselves out into more of the buildings, which had had the added bonus of reducing the amount of conflict. There weren't the clear divisions between the higher X series and the other Transgenics, but some of the more extreme-minded X5s had claimed an area for themselves, calling themselves 'The Elite'. Although not particularly happy with the situation, Alec had left it for the time being. He knew the reputations of enough of the individuals involved to know that it didn't really matter what they did, they were going to be trouble. At least this way that trouble was minimized and, in the meantime, everyone else was learning to get along. He could always cling onto the vaguest hope that perhaps by the time they got round to causing trouble, the rest of the Transgenics would be enough of a unified force to stand together against their prejudice.

He ignored Ben's laughter and turned back to his lists.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps jogging up the steps, saw as Adam appeared beaming. "You look pleased with yourself?" he said by way of greeting.

"Sienna's left me. She's moved down with 'The Elite'. At last!" Adam grinned even wider. "I feel like I can relax at last!"

"Congratulations, man," Alec forced a smile onto his face. On a personal level for his friend, Alec was pleased that Adam was no longer hooked up with the Bitch from Hell but unwittingly she had been a good source of information about what was going on with 'The Elite' as she had moaned and complained that Adam wouldn't go down there, that Adam was spending too much time kowtowing to Max and Alec and their cohorts. As she'd groused continually, she'd also frequently told him how much 'better' it would be down there and what their current plans were.

They'd survive without her information, but maybe he'd need to think of another way round getting that information. The thought had occurred that Luke would probably be able to put together some sort of surveillance type equipment, but he wasn't sure that he was really comfortable with that kind of subterfuge. The whole point was that they were free of Manticore's rule. If they started deliberately spying on their own, they were no better than what they'd left behind. They HAD to be better. Alec couldn't accept the prospect of anything less.

He looked up, snapping his attention back to Adam as soon as he realized that his thoughts had begun to drift again. It never used to be this hard to concentrate. Ben was hanging around behind Adam's shoulder and so Alec dipped his eyes to focus on Adam's chin rather than his face and hoped that would keep Ben out of his sight.

"So the raid tonight?" Adam said and Alec gave a jerky nod, rifling through the papers beside him before coming up with a map and a list of what supplies they needed to focus on retrieving. "Are you coming with us?"

"Yeah, I'm good for that," Alec said, putting as much confidence into his voice as he could.

"Let me check the stitches in your leg first and then I'll be the judge of that," Adam replied.

There was a moment's hesitation where Alec almost refused angrily, but instead he took a deep breath and then calmly said, "It's all good, Max and Joshua have both checked it out." He tried to add a little sass to his words, "If you don't believe me, go ask them." It was an almost truth. They had both checked it out, but that had been the day after it had happened. He hadn't let anyone near it since.

Adam's eyes narrowed and for a moment Alec thought he was going to challenge him on that. Then he conceded with a shrug, just saying, "Okay" and let the matter drop.

Alec had checked it himself and it was fine, not good. It was healing, but not as quickly as it should, another sign that he hadn't recovered yet from the effects of the lack of food and the fact that he was spending too much time walking down to where the gangs were working, lending a hand at times, giving encouragement and praise at others. He wondered whether he should talk to Max again. Maybe if he boosted his calorie intake further, back to normal Manticore levels, maybe his body would fall back into its proper cycle. He couldn't be sure though. There had been plenty of other Transgenics whose bodies had just stopped healing.

He looked up at the sound of Max coming up the stairs, his gaze seeking out hers. He didn't know what was happening between them, but all work had stopped on 'her room' and she seemed more than content to sleep in his bed each night. He wasn't sure what it meant. It wasn't like they were lovers, just bedmates, but she did seem to like to curl into him. She seemed a lot more tactile in general of late. The thought occurred that maybe she wanted to be lovers, but he looked at her as she crossed and pulled out the chair between him and Adam and despite the smile she gave him, he didn't think there was anything more than familiarity and a sort of tentative friendship in it. She wouldn't want someone like him; couldn't possibly want him. That was an even crazier thought than if he'd been considering following any of Ben's suggestions.

# # #

Obsidian sat on the roof top, eyes trained on the street below, wishing it didn't rain so much in Seattle. He was fed up of so many nights spent wet and waiting for the bad guys. Apart from anything else, it was boring. He let his feet swing back and forth and let out a bored huff of air. He checked his surroundings, he was still alone.

There was the faintest sound of footsteps in the street below. He leaned forward, checking everything. Even with his enhanced sight, it took a moment to register the figure in black that was hiding in the alley. He looked up and down the street for any signs of passersby. No one yet. He tried to judge the time. It was a bit of a guess but he didn't think it would be too long before people would start to leave the movie theater a little further down the street and then the guy below would pick out his victims.

Eyeing where the guy was hidden, Obsidian moved back from the edge and let himself down the far side of the building he'd been sitting on. He sneaked round to the other end of the alley in which the mugger was hidden and silently slipped in behind him to wait.

Heightened senses sucked, Obsidian thought, when you couldn't turn them off. He stood concealed behind a foul-smelling garbage bin. He was grateful when he picked up the sound of voices in the main street and then heard the guy he was following shuffle closer to the end of the alley, silhouetting himself for Obsidian's eyes in the glow of the street light beyond.

The man moved out grabbing hold of a passing woman and holding a knife to her neck as he demanded money and jewelry from her and her companion. Obsidian was a step or two behind him and before he had time to do more than make his threat, his knife was clattering across the street and Obsidian was pulling him away from the girl, already shoving him down to the ground and pulling zip ties from his pocket to secure the mugger against the nearest drainpipe.

The girl was sobbing and her friend had moved closer, throwing an arm over her shoulders to pull her closer in an attempt to offer comfort. Obsidian looked away embarrassed and uncertain. "Ummm, you should call the police and let them come and get him, give them a statement and stuff," he said awkwardly. "Then get yourselves home safely."

The sobbing girl turned from her friend and threw herself at Obsidian, who staggered backward at the unexpected onslaught. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Nightwalker. . ." she sobbed against his chest.

"Not Nightwalker," he said, trying to extricate himself from her tenacious grip. "Obsidian, Dark Obsidian, that's my name. Nightwalker was something the press made up. I've got to go." He pushed her away as firmly as he could without hurting her, shoving her back towards her friend before running back into the darkness of the alleyway and vanishing around the corner quickly.

# # #

Max sat watching the TV quietly, Alec was still sleeping and Joshua had gone out. Alec had arrived back later than she'd expected from the raid, dragging himself exhaustedly up the stairs. He'd barely had enough energy to shed his shoes and outer clothes before collapsing into the bed. Not that he'd fallen straight to sleep as she'd expected, he'd been tense and even during the night his sleep had been unsettled before he'd finally fallen deeply and, she hoped, dreamlessly asleep and she'd felt the tension leave him.

She'd fallen back to sleep as well and hadn't been awake long, but she wasn't going to head up to Command Center until she'd had a chance to check him over properly; including the wound on his leg. She'd cautiously spoken to Adam about whether they could be affected by slower healing than Transgenics usually had. He'd admitted that it was another possible side effect; she'd got the feeling though that he hadn't told her everything he knew about it.

The news came on, more reports on the fights of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. She watched again, wondering why it affected Alec so deeply. She could see the injustice of it, see the potential for parallels between those 'superheroes' and the Transgenics around her, but the imbalance didn't surprise her any more than the persistent intolerance towards her kind surprised her. She'd been in the world for long enough to know that they weren't the only people being treated unfairly, they weren't the only 'minority' in need of justice in a system that if given the choice didn't even want to acknowledge their existence. She had come to the conclusion a long time ago that it was just a fact of life. She wasn't sure why Alec didn't see it that way.

The report changed to local news and how three muggers, thought to possibly be part of a gang who planned together but then worked as individuals had all been caught the previous night and when the police arrived the attackers had already been zip tied to downpipes or other immovable street furnishings ready for collection. "At first," the newscaster explained, "it was assumed that the three incidents were the work of the Nightwalker, however, police suspect that is now not the case and that in fact 'Nightwalker' is not one person at all, but a group of vigilantes patrolling our streets, wreaking their own form of vengeance. At least one of last night's vigilantes told people at the scene that his name was 'Dark Obsidian', which suggests he is someone the police were not aware of before. Police say given the distance between the three incidents last night, despite the similarity in appearance of all three vigilantes, it would be almost impossible for a single person to have been involved in all three."

"This raises again the concern of just who is out on our streets at night. Police are asking witnesses and anyone with any other information to come forward and assist in their investigations. The police chief makes the point that do we really want these renegades taking the law into their own hands on our streets? Do we want this kind of reckless lawlessness to go on around our children?"

"We have this footage from the scene of the first of last night's crimes at which our reporter was able to interview one of the people involved in the incident."

The image onscreen changed to that of two women and a reporter. "So you both witnessed what happened here last night?" the reporter began.

"Yes, this guy came out of the alley over there and grabbed me around the neck and then threatened me with a knife." As she spoke the woman rubbed at her neck, where a thin red line could still be seen, "He demanded our money and any jewelry that we'd got. Then before he could do anything else, a second guy appeared behind him. I didn't see him at first, but there was a jolt and then the knife fell away and before I really knew what was happening, he had the first guy, my attacker, on the floor and was dragging him to the downpipe and using zip ties to keep him in place. I was so thankful. I'm not sure that even if we'd handed over our money that I'd have got away unharmed without Obsidian."

"Obsidian? So the vigilante quite clearly said that he wasn't the Nightwalker?" the reporter pressed.

"He said Nightwalker wasn't his name, it was just something the press had made up," she said.

The reporter turned away from her as if dismissing anything else she might say and continued speaking, "So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, categorical proof that Nightwalker is not working alone. He is in fact part of a group. These people have decided that they wish to stalk our streets at night and mete out their own form of justice, deciding for themselves who is in the right."

The woman behind him frowned and tried to interrupt him, "That's not true. All he did was disarm and then tie up my attacker. He didn't cause any harm to him."

The man ignored her and began to walk away, still talking into his microphone, "Police urge anyone with information that might lead to the arrest of this gang of vigilantes before any further disruption and threat to the lives of ordinary Seattle citizens can occur. For your own protection, call the number on screen now with anything that might help the police in their search for real justice for our community. And now I'll hand you back to the studio."

Max sighed, relieved that Alec had slept through such a biased and unjust news report because she was sure it would only have angered him more if he'd seen it. Whoever this Obsidian was, and she wasn't convinced that it was more than one person, he was taking out the criminal element of the city. The only people who'd wound up seriously hurt or dead were armed and dangerous to the public. Wherever he could, it appeared that Obsidian or Nightwalker or both if it really was two people subdued and restrained the criminals and then left them for the police. She flicked the TV off, figuring that was the problem - he was making too much work for the police and judicial system by actually catching the criminals and he was making them look bad.

She wondered how much longer he would keep bothering to try and make a positive difference.

# # #

_Pain._

_The world was made of pain._

_Or maybe that wasn't true. Maybe it was only his world that was made of pain. His world with the cold voice that was sharp like a knife._

_He was X5 or so the voice had told him. X5s were supposed to be strong. X5s were supposed to be leaders. X5s were superior._

_This wasn't what it meant to be superior._

_His world was an empty, dark space, with only him and the voice and the machines that kept him alive while he did the things they sent him to do. The world was chill, meaningless. The only point to existence was to fill his goals, to do what they told him to do._

_Existence was the fight to survive, but he was tired. He didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't want to live anymore._

_"So," the voice was close. "What has 494 been doing this time?"_

_"He's a vigilante in Seattle. He tracks criminals and then he overcomes them and ties them up to leave them for the police."_

_"A vigilante, you say. Tell me more."_

_"He's been in the news reports. It's making him angry, they're calling him the Nightwalker. He wants them to call him Dark Obsidian."_

_"And what does this Nightwalker do when he's playing at being a vigilante?" he could hear the sneer in the voice._

_He didn't hesitate to begin to retell exactly what he had seen 494 doing._

# # #

Steve found it baffling that Tony could own a plane, or more than one in all likelihood, as well as all the other cars and properties and . . . . everything really, that he owned. Billionaire; it was a concept that he struggled still to comprehend. Foolish really, it wasn't like Howard hadn't been disproportionately wealthy compared to anyone else Steve had known back in the day and Tony had clearly built the Stark empire even further.

He didn't have a problem with wealth, and, in the time he'd come to know Tony, he knew that the other man did a lot of good with his money as well as being somewhat frivolous with both gifts for friends and in terms of wanting something for himself and deciding immediately to arrange for whatever his latest fancy was.

But on mornings like the latest one, where Tony would rise from bed full of purpose and drive and suddenly track down Steve and insist that he drop everything to accompany him to . . . whatever his latest idea was, Steve felt at a complete loss. Sitting in the plane now, Steve had no idea where they were going or why and he only hoped it wasn't something that was going to draw Fury's unwanted attention.

"Tony, where are we going?"

"Seattle," he said simply. "I'm fed up of waiting for something to happen, some solution to the mess out there so we're going to do something about it."

"Seattle? What exactly are we going to do?"

"Dunno yet. Any ideas?"

Steve rubbed a hand over his face and tried to push away the negative thoughts that they were rushing into something without a plan and it was all going to backfire horrendously. He thought of how well they did on missions, on defending the city or the country when they were under attack and tried to believe that this was going to be the same.

"Tony, we can't make things worse you know."

"I know. So get thinking, Cap - ha! Get your thinking cap on, Cap!" He quirked an eyebrow at the joke and Steve just shook his head.

# # #

As the aircraft approached Seattle, Tony moved up to the cockpit and gave the pilot a few directions before moving back up to join Steve and picking up a briefcase. "Your suit?" Steve asked, nodding at the case.

"Absolutely. Better safe than sorry and on that subject, I took the liberty of packing your shield." He leaned over the side of the chair and pulled out the shield, holding it out for Steve. "I, hmm, I think the word is 'borrowed' or maybe 'liberated' some of the details of Fury's helicarrier designs and the invisibility cloak seemed like quite a good idea and the whole hovery thing they do. Of course, I only borrowed the initial concepts, my versions are far superior so we are currently approaching Seattle in stealth mode and we're going to be able to hover right over the Terminal City compound without detection. There will of course still be a certain degree of risk in getting out and down to the ground, but if you're good with it, I figured we could try sort of rappelling in. If we have to get out in a hurry, I've got the suit and I can lift us out and back up here - I've got a tracker so we can find it without it needing to reveal itself."

"Us? You're going to lift me out?"

"Why not? You've seen me do it before, need I remind you? There was Hawkeye . . . Black Widow. I've even given Bruce a lift, when he was Bruce - not the Other Guy obviously. He tends not to need lifts."

Steve took a deep breath and reminded himself, he'd leaped out of planes with less knowledge about what was on the ground and no one to support him. He could trust Tony, all he needed to do now was ignore Tony's smart ass grin that did absolutely nothing to reassure him the man had any sense of responsibility to anybody's safety and survival. He nodded, "Fine. We'll try it."

It wasn't long before the two of them were rappelling down into the most deserted area of the compound they had been able to identify from their fly past and judging by the lack of welcoming party, they'd been pretty successful. Steve had jumped first and with his feet firmly on the ground, he looked up as Tony descended and he couldn't help but smile as Tony came down with the briefcase clasped awkwardly.

Reaching the ground, Steve had had to help release him from the rope as he'd grumbled about needing to redesign either the way he carried the suit or the rappelling equipment. "Don't laugh at me, Cap. It's alright for you - you've had seventy odd years to perfect your technique!"

Steve shook his head in exasperation, "Do I need to point out that I spent the majority of those seventy years frozen in ice and not practicing aerial descents?"

"Whatever you say, Capsicle," Tony replied, before turning and starting to walk towards what he seemed to think was a more populated area. "Knowing you though, you probably spent all those years planning and mentally rehearsing what you would do in a trillion and one situations!"

Steve smirked at the grousing, pleased that both he and Tony had reached a point where they could share that kind of joke without it being malicious.

"No," Steve smirked, "Actually I was contemplating the meaning of life, the universe and everything." There was a pause before he added, "All those years and I never realized the answer was forty-two."

Tony almost choked on a breath as he registered what Steve had said. "Did you just use a pop culture quip?" he gasped.

Steve laughed, before adding, "We should focus on the job at hand. If there's time when we finish, you can regale me with your tales of derring do and baffle me with your usual quantity of cultural references that I can't even begin to work out the significance of."

"No, no, Cap! I'm impressed. Seriously, color me impressed, really impressed!"

# # #

So Tony figured he'd known they were going to make contact with Terminal City's occupants at some point. Rounding a corner and finding himself at the wrong end of a number of guns wasn't quite what he had in mind. Still it could have been worse . . . maybe. . .

"Don't shoot!" Steve had said. "We come in peace!"

Tony groaned. Steve looked at him in surprise. "Tony?"

"Tell me you didn't just say that. You didn't just say 'we come in peace'!" Tony pleaded.

"But we do come in peace," Steve said, still confused. He looked back to the soldiers and said, "We do," with great sincerity. They looked as confused as Steve at Tony's outburst.

Tony groaned again and said, "Next thing is you'll be saying, 'Take us to your leader'."

"Well . . ." Steve bit his lip, unsure what to say. "I mean we do want that, to see their leader, right? So . . . what's the problem?"

"Nothing, nothing at all clearly. Must just be me, resident genius who has a problem with it. Take no notice. My bad and all that!" He sighed as he took in the baffled expressions on the faces of the Transgenic soldiers before them and said loudly and assertively, "We come in peace. Take us to your leader!" He huffed out a breath in exasperation before adding in a quiet mutter, "And later I'll educate you all, along with my partner here, in why not to come out with tripe like that!"

One of the Transgenics stepped forward and tried to snatch Steve's shield away, as another frisked him down. A brief tug of war took place before a third man cocked his gun and pointed it at Tony's head. "Your choice . . . you hand it over or he gets it?" Quietly Steve surrendered the shield and watched as the gun was removed from Tony's temple.

The same man then made to take Tony's briefcase. "Hands off, Buster!" Tony snapped. "You hear me saying 'Avon's calling?'"

"Hand it over!" the man said firmly.

"Can't!" Tony snapped back, holding the briefcase and jiggling the cuffs that kept it locked to his own wrist.

"Fine, you can keep it for the minute, but trust me, on the way to our destination, you think about how much you like that hand because I'm taking the case," he said simply.

"This way. Move!" said another of the Transgenics, waving in the direction of a dismal looking alley with his gun, as the others moved to surround Steve and Tony. Once the two of them began to move in the indicated direction, he spoke again, this time to one of the men with him. "Eno, go fetch Max."

The other man nodded and said, "Will you be in -?" not bothering to finish the sentence but instead making a gesture further down the alley.

"Yes," was all the reply the man giving orders gave before the soldier in question set off running back in the direction they'd come.

Tony frowned, concern tweaking at the fact that they clearly weren't going to be 'taken to any leader' but rather it appeared they were going to be taken to a disgustingly filthy disused area of Terminal City and possibly the leaders would be brought to them. He doubted very much that it boded well for their immediate future. He consoled himself that for the minute at least, Steve's shield was still within relatively easy reach and he had his suitcase and even if they took it from him, he still had his arm bracelets and could remotely trigger it and it would find him. They weren't defenseless and he wasn't in any real degree of danger yet.

He knew what the problem was. There were too many things reminding him of Afghanistan, of being outnumbered and defenseless in front of bland faced strangers. He glanced down making sure that, as he already knew, the arc reactor couldn't even be seen in outline. These people clearly didn't know how dangerous Steve could be with his shield or they'd have sent it off with the guy who'd just left. And they had no idea of just what lurked in the suitcase. Everything was going to be fine and if it wasn't he also had the jet still hanging over Terminal City ready to get them out.

This wasn't a stupid plan at all. He hadn't just walked them into the lion's den, because he wasn't stupid. He was a genius; he had the test scores to prove it!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Max looked up as an X6 skidded in through the door of the command center and then shoved people out of his way as he crossed the ground floor and took the steps up to her three at a time.

"Intruders!" he snapped out, coming to attention in front of her. "We were on patrol and we've found intruders. Two men in plain clothes and they're saying they come in peace and want to speak to our leader."

Alec was up and on his feet from the desk where he was working on the far side of the room, already crossing over to join the two of them. "Eno! What have you done with them? Are you bringing them here?" Max could see the look of concern on his face, hoping they'd not done that.

"No, Adam's taking them down to the abandoned warehouse at the end of 14th. We picked them up just near there and there was the alley cut through so that way they don't get to see what we've done to spruce the place up. They can keep believing we're living in this place as it was when we got here."

Alec nodded in agreement with that decision. "I'll come."

"Alec," Max said mildly, not really wanting to argue at all, let alone in front of anyone else. "Alec, we'll go . . . together." She turned back to the X6, gesturing back to the stairs as she said, "We'll be down in a minute."

Alec paused, looked down at the floor for an instant, then looking back up, said, "I didn't want to put you at risk. I can deal with it."

"No one is expendable," she said quietly. "No one, not even you."

He nodded and move to a locker in the corner of the room, unlocking it and taking out a weapon and slipping it in to a shoulder holster. He then attached a second holster to his leg and slipped a second gun into it. When he reached for a third gun, she stepped across to him and laid a hand on his arm. "Two men, Alec. Two and they're already under guard."

"You're not armed," he said, voice still quiet but with a distinct tone of defiance.

"So you're going to carry an arsenal in my place. What's this about really?"

"We don't know who they are." The words were short and bitten off.

"Are you really this concerned? We could take Mole with us."

"We don't know who they are!" he repeated. "You honestly think putting Mole front and center is going to be a good idea? What's their reaction going to be to his striking good looks and easy going temperament?"

"Alec," there was a hint of reproach in the words and she followed it with a gasp of surprise as he took a firm hold of her arm and dragged her across to the plan of Terminal City they had laid out on the table.

"Look!" he said insistently. "This is where they were picked up," he gestured vaguely to the end of 14th Street where Eno had reported they'd found the two men. "It's right on the edge of where we've cleaned up," he hissed in annoyance. "Well within the boundaries of two sets of patrols. In fact, the fluke is that they were picked up by the group they were when and where they were because that isn't a patrol pattern, it was just a bunch of guys going down to check on work and problem zones - random and unpredictable. So how did these guys get in, end up where they were and avoid being detected? You still wanna give them the benefit of the doubt?"

"Alec, I'm not giving anyone the benefit of anything. I'm just saying we shouldn't panic either. There are only two of them!"

"We've only found two of them, doesn't mean there are only two."

She nodded, "Fair point."

"They could be familiars . . . White's men . . . Manticore . . . who knows. . ." he sounded more resigned and tired and she took the opportunity to press herself to his side, responding when he slid his arm around her as if to pull her closer. He squeezed her briefly, rubbed his hand up and down her arm as if in reassurance and then stepped away to retrieve two knives from the locker, one of which he slid into his wrist guard and a second he secured around his ankle. He paused with his hand on the third gun before putting it back into its position in the locker and closing the door. He turned the key and then looked across at her, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, yeah I am," she agreed, moving across to the top of the stairs. "Let's go find out who our intruders are."

# # #

"Ugh!" Tony groaned as they picked their way down the alley, trying to avoid the worst of whatever it was that was lying in thick green, viscous looking pools of slime on the ground. "Toxic - they said this place was toxic. If I catch something nasty, I'm blaming you," he griped in Steve's direction as they followed the nimble footed Transgenic at the front.

"You do that," Steve said blandly. "None of this was your idea at all! And anyway, this is the least we can do."

"You do know they aren't taking us somewhere nice - you've noticed they are treating us as prisoners, not honored guests?"

"Shut up!" said the Transgenic just behind him, poking him in the back with his gun to keep Tony moving.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, shut up and do as you're told or we'll do something nasty to you, blah, blah, blah... Heard it all before"

Despite the seeming offhand snark to the words, Steve could hear the edge to Tony's voice and turned slightly, as he realized this could be bringing back some very nasty memories that Tony didn't really want to be dealing with here and now. "Tony, trust me."

"Ha! What makes you think I don't trust you, Capsicle, my old friend? He's older than he looks you know," Tony said as if to the Transgenics who were doing an impressive job of ignoring everything but the forward movement, leaving Tony to ramble without being distracted, despite the order to shut up. Steve almost thought the order had purely been to follow a protocol for the situation rather than actually any concern about the actual rambling. "It's not you I don't trust. Of course it's not you. You're you, you're stars and stripes and good old America, old fashioned values, one for all and all for one. Actually no, that wasn't you, was it? That was D'Artagnan and his bunch or was it Dogtanian . . . no that was a cartoon and if he did say it, he'd probably pinched it from the other guy. Not Bruce's other guy, the other 'other guy' . . . the one who wrote about D'Artagnan."

"Dumas, Tony, Alexandre Dumas and just believe me, everything's going to be fine," Steve had turned fully, now walking backwards so that he could make proper eye-contact with Tony. "Let's just do what they ask and hopefully we'll get a chance to talk to someone and explain what we're doing here."

"Don't walk backwards, Cap. You might fall into some of that really nasty crap on the floor," Tony said, blandly. "Then it might ruin your pants . . ." He looked down. "Actually you know what, before we get out of here, remind me to knock you over into one of those puddles of green slime because seriously . . . where do you shop? That is one nasty pair of pants. Do you have to commission them? Does someone seriously make pants that bad and sell them? It's like torture just looking at them. Walk behind me, they're indecent. No one should be subjected to seeing them. When we get out of here I'm taking you shopping . . . Tell me you didn't go to - to - to Wal-Mart? Please tell me you didn't set foot inside that monstrosity!" He appeared to shudder at the thought. "Or did you let Fury or even worse Coulson shop for you . . . Oh, the horror! The shame! How could they thrust you out into the world like that?"

Steve smiled and turned back to walking normally just as they reached their destination. The Transgenic at the front pushed open the door on an old and at first glance abandoned warehouse. Two of the Transgenics at the rear gave sudden brutal shoves forcing Tony and Steve into the warehouse and off balancing them.

Steve regained his feet quickly and looked round. Seeing some packing cases in the middle of the floor, he walked over and hoisted himself up to sit on one and wait for whatever happened next. He didn't want to appear threatening or antagonistic, but at the same time, he wasn't willing to show any sign of weakness.

# # #

Max could almost see how Alec was holding himself back as they ran through the streets of Terminal City, 'following' Eno, their guide. She had a feeling that Alec knew exactly where they were going and would have been more than willing to blur ahead of them both. But he didn't and for that she was grateful.

She wasn't sure whether it was respect for her that kept him at her pace, not wanting to give away the superior skill to the X6 or something else entirely, but she was glad when they finally got there together.

She was surprised when he caught hold of her arm ahead of entering the warehouse and gave her the option of staying outside at least at first. He didn't seem to expect her to accept the offer, but she got the feeling he needed to make it nonetheless.

Max knew that she could look on his actions as demeaning, as some kind of superiority complex. She knew that not long ago that was exactly what she would have believed, but things were changing. She was changing and her perspective of him was altering along with it. While she couldn't pinpoint his exact motivation, she knew it wasn't that he didn't think she could hold her own in a conflict. She wasn't sure if he was trying to protect her from the violence or maybe it was just that he thought she'd taken on enough in leading them all, that she shouldn't have to deal with the trivia. Except this wasn't trivial, this was intruders.

"I'm good," she said simply and saw him nod his acceptance of her answer. He still seemed poised though, as if there were something more he wanted to say. She stepped closer, rested her hand on his arm, saw as his eyes tracked down to it and he breathed deep but unsteadily. "What is it, Alec?" she asked gently. "What are you thinking?"

"If you . . . don't want to stay, when we . . ." He shuddered. "If you don't want to stay when we make them talk, it's okay for you to go."

It took a moment or two for her to realize what he was trying to say and then she was stepping closer. "No, Alec, No." She cupped his cheek, coasted her thumb under his eyes. "You're not at Manticore any more - you don't have to do that."

The depth of pain in his eyes hurt her insides, made her stomach clench and when he murmured, "Somebody has to," she felt a wave of nausea that he could be so resigned to that fate.

"Not you, not anymore. You are not at Manticore anymore, Alec. You don't have to do these things anymore."

"You lead and I'm your second. You're the future of what we can be, the good we can be," he said softly. "But to reach that future we can't pretend the past didn't happen and there are going to be times when we have to call on those skills learned at Manticore. It has to be me who does this."

She sighed and he pulled her closer, hugging her gently. "It's okay, Maxie. It's just the way things are. Someone has to do those things."

She wanted to push him away, to shake him and tell him he was wrong, but part of her refused to accept the lie. What he said was true, that there would be times when they had to call on the skills Manticore had given them and that this could well be one of them. He was right in saying she didn't really have that in her. The true refining of those skills would have come long after she left. She knew she had no right to pull him out with her and to make someone else carry out the job because every one of them had the same right to be 'human' and to not be forced into acts such as those. But he was wrong too. Not that he'd said it out loud, but she knew him well enough to know that he believed he was a monster, that he was beyond redemption and that was why he thought he should be the one to do it.

Something had to change and it was now or never. Stubbornly she pulled him closer, reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips, putting every positive feeling she had into the action, every bit of faith forward and hoping it would make a difference to him. "No," she said as she drew back. "We are not Manticore. We are more than Manticore, better than Manticore. We will find another way . . . a way that doesn't hurt who we are."

He stared at her agape, a blush of embarrassment stealing up his cheeks. She smiled warm and affectionate, then taking his hand in hers, turned to enter the warehouse.

# # #

Steve watched as Tony paced from one end of the clear area in the center of the warehouse floor to the other. He watched as Tony rambled seemingly aimless comments to himself. He'd be thinking and planning something Steve was sure, even if it wasn't an escape plot. In fact it was fair odds that it would be new body armor for Clint after his injury of a few days previously. Steve made no attempt to stop him, just kept watch on the Transgenics to make sure none of them intended hurting Tony.

They had, as they had warned, taken Tony's briefcase from him. They hadn't taken it far, thankfully for Steve's peace of mind. Tony had cautioned them that while he wasn't armed, the briefcase itself had safeguards that would prevent it being opened and so for the minute they had simply taken it and carried it to the far side of the warehouse - 'out of Tony's reach', although Steve knew enough to know that if called the suit inside would deploy regardless of how far away they had set it down.

The sound of voices outside was enough to have Tony pausing and looking back at Steve. Steve shrugged, relieved when Tony stopped his pacing and instead moved to lean back nonchalantly against the packing case on which Steve was sitting.

In walked three more Transgenics, one of them the young man that had been sent as a messenger earlier, the second a tall young man with dark blonde hair, clean shaven with wary eyes and the last a young woman with long dark hair and an authoritative air.

The two newcomers strode in and Steve watched as the others deferred to their presence, reporting to the two of them where he and Tony had been found and that they'd taken the briefcase from Tony.

The young man turned, looking them up and down, eyes narrowing as he seemed to be contemplating something. All of a sudden he broke the silence, moving closer to Steve as he said, "Where's your barcode?"

"My what?" Steve asked.

"Don't play stupid with me. I know you're a clone."

"Clone?" Steve looked at Tony as if Tony would understand.

"He's not a clone," Tony said simply, ignoring the man's snort of disbelief. "Why would you think he is?"

"Which one are you?" he directed the question to Steve, paying no attention to Tony's question.

"Which what am I?"

"Well, I've seen two of you on the television and believe me, I'm not stupid. So which one are you?"

Steve frowned, still at a loss as to what the man before him thought was going on. "My name is Steve Rogers."

"Captain America," the man said drily.

"If you wish, but I'm here as a friend, so as far as I'm concerned Steve is fine..."

"Why should we believe that? You're working for the military, aren't you? You're here to get us to surrender. Well, it's not going to work." The man's tone was bitter and angry, but he softened when the young woman stepped forward and rested a hand on his arm.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"We saw some news reports and we were concerned and wanted to see if there was any way we could help. I mean I know it's not straightforward or anything but we'd like to try."

"Sorry to interrupt and all that - but why exactly do you think he's a clone?" Tony pushed forward, determined to see where the Transgenic's thoughts had gone. None of the others had noticed anything.

"I've seen them both on the news. Him and the Human Torch, you think I'm stupid enough not to see the truth. Most of us are clones, you think we can't spot one a mile away! Calling yourselves superheroes when all you are really are Transgenics who work for the government. In between 'saving people'," he sneered, "do they send you out on assassinations as well?"

"You're wrong," Tony said decisively. "You are wrong about what we do and who we do it for . . ." Steve turned to look over his shoulder and Tony tilted his head as if analyzing his appearance. He sighed deeply before saying, "You're wrong about him being a clone." He pointed at Steve. "But I agree there's a strong family resemblance between him and Johnny, now you've pointed it out. Anyway, if we're going to chat, don't you think we should finish with the introductions, break out the beers, get the welcome wagon rolling? Hi, I'm Tony Stark. You may or may not have heard of me."

"Stark Industries . . . Iron Man . . . yeah, I know who you are," the young man replied.

"Alec, let's talk, find out why they're here, what they want before -" the woman said steadily.

"Yeah, Alec, let's . . . Nice to meet you by the way...?" Tony held a hand out to the woman.

She took it warily but shook it firmly, saying, "I'm Max."

"Nice to meet you, Max. Can't say I like the digs, but . . . I guess that's part of why we're here."

# # #

Neither of the men seemed threatening or at least not actively so, although Max still felt unsure of them. She could see clearly the resemblance between the man who had introduced himself as Steve and the Human Torch who Alec had pointed out on the television. She didn't remember this one so well, although it was clear Alec knew them from all the news reports he had watched. Looking round it was clear that the other Transgenics had no idea who they were.

She'd been surprised by their reaction to Alec's accusation of Steve being a clone as if they didn't know what a clone was. It was shocking that they hadn't noticed the similarity between him and the Human Torch themselves, unless it was just a ruse.

It was irrelevant or almost so anyway. More important was why they were here and what they wanted. Was there any truth to the offer of friendship and help? She glanced worriedly at Alec. He was so tense, not himself at all.

"Eno," she turned to the X6 as she spoke. "Can you get us some chairs, so that we can sit and talk properly, please?" He immediately darted for the stairs at the far end of the warehouse, footsteps clattering upward at speed and moments later he hurried back down again with four chairs stacked up in front of him, setting them down in front of Max before starting to separate them and set one before each of them. He then withdrew back to stand guard with the others in his patrol.

Max took her chair and sat down, watching to see the others' reaction. Steve stepped forward quickly, pushing one chair closer to Tony before taking his own. Tony looked at Alec's lack of movement for a moment before Steve coughing drew his attention back to his chair. He lifted it and twisted it round before sitting down with his arms resting on the back and his eyes watching intently. Alec still stood and when he didn't move or say anything, Max called his name, "Alec." As soon as she caught his eye, she tilted her head to the chair and said, "Please," quietly.

His posture was rigid as he took the chair and although seated, he still looked like he was ready to spring into action at any point. It was a surprise then, when it was Alec who took the lead.

"So we're all on first name terms, we must be friends," he said drily. "So in the spirit of friendship . . . why exactly are you here?"

Max watched as the two men shared a glance before Steve spoke. "We saw a news report about some of the things that have been happening to you and we . . . we weren't happy with it and wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help. We aren't sure how, but we figured we were never going to work it out if we couldn't make contact with you first."

"So you just figured you'd waltz in here past our guards and just -" Alec snapped.

"Listen! You don't want our help, that's fine!" Tony barked over him. "We'll clear on out and we won't come back and you can all sink or swim on your own in this toxic waste dump! We aren't the ones in need of help here!"

Alec was up on his feet and Max barely had time to catch him before he threw a punch. Steve was also up and putting himself between Alec and Tony, turning to give his attention to his own team mate. "That's a really helpful attitude, Tony! They have every right to be suspicious and we haven't given them any reason to trust us yet. You honestly think in their position we'd be more welcoming of strangers with no credentials."

"I have plenty of credentials! Just ask Pepper!"

"The kind of credentials that count here, Tony," Steve said with a hint of fond exasperation. "Nobody here cares about your companies or your money because they don't mean anything here."

"So what, they're just going to sit here and wait for someone to drop a bomb on them, raze them to the ground? What kind of stupid plan of action is that?"

"Sit down and let's talk about it," Steve said, pushing Tony back to his chair.

Max was relieved that Alec had subsided almost immediately she touched him. He was watching the two men, listening to every word they said and although his hands had fisted as some of the things Tony had said, he hadn't tried to push forward past her. As Steve pushed Tony into a chair, Max tried the same with Alec. She pulled her chair closer to his once he was seated, then turned her attention back to the men before her.

"What would you suggest we do then?" she said quietly in Tony's direction.

"You're sitting ducks for anyone to drop a bomb on you and wipe you all out," he said, far calmer than he'd been before as if Steve's words had hit home.

"We're counting on the resulting explosion causing too much toxic waste dispersal and so that's what prevents them from doing it," Alec said softly. "It's not much but it's our only hope." Max hadn't even considered it before, but Alec's words made it clear that he had. She watched him carefully. "It's not like we can run, not like we can blend in . . ."

"Why can't you do that?"

"We don't all look like this," Alec said, gesturing around the room. "Some of us couldn't pass for Ordinary. We live or die together."

"Sorry," Tony said. "I was under the impression . . . it doesn't matter. You're a team, that's what counts."

"You thought we'd leave the Transhumans to rot?" Alec arched an eyebrow. "Well, we won't."

Before Tony could say anything, Steve interrupted, "As it should be. No man left behind. Look, we're not sure what help we can offer, but we'd like to try. Maybe there are supplies that you need or. . ."

"So you can send in contaminated stuff and poison us all?"

"No. Not that, not that at all. I don't know how to convince you otherwise."

Max put a hand on Alec's thigh to still him for a moment, as she spoke, "How would you get anything to us?"

"We have a cloaked ship overhead now. We could bring in small shipments. We'd have to be cautious because while the ship is cloaked when it's sealed as soon as we open the doors that can be seen and anything travelling down from the ship to here could be seen."

Tony picked up as Steve finished. "We know that you've had to raid various outlets for food and medical supplies. That's only going to get harder as security in the area increases due to the attacks. You're going to have to work even harder and lose more men to even approach the same level of reward. You need something better and we're not sure we can provide it completely, but we can go some way to helping."

"The military and the government are wrong in what they're doing to you. It's not what you deserve. You've been treated badly and you deserve better. We'd like to try and help as much as we can." The sincerity in Steve's voice and something about his manner seemed to penetrate Alec's anger and Max saw as his posture eased a little and while still wary, his willingness to listen at last became apparent.

# # #

Steve wasn't sure what had made the change, but something had. Alec was sitting, not relaxed exactly but certainly more open and willing to listen. Now he really needed to keep a rein on what came out of Tony's mouth and make sure that he jumped in to cut him off if that seemed safest. He supposed this was one of those occasions when Pepper would say that Tony was an 'acquired taste'. He hadn't been sure what she meant by that in the early days of their acquaintance, but the more he got to know Tony, the more he understood. Tony wasn't deliberately unkind or dismissive, nor for the most part was he purposefully superior, although he definitely had his moments on that one. It wasn't that he was antisocial . . . more like asocial; as if somehow, despite all his intelligence, all his genius and education, the one thing he couldn't understand was people and social interaction.

"How are your food supplies?" Tony asked calmly. "What is it that you need most? Food? Medical supplies? Do you need us to get you access to doctors? I'm not sure how we could do that but if it's what you need we could work on it? Bruce might?" he said the last to Steve. "I mean I know that's not perfect but he might be able to at least help a little."

When it seemed likely that Tony would continue to ramble, Steve cut him off before he had chance to overwhelm them. "We're open to listening to anything you want to ask for and we can try and work something out."

"Clean up equipment," Alec said simply. "Gear that we can use to make this place habitable. We know there's stuff that can be used, we need access to it."

"Done!" Tony barked, then after a pause he added, "Well I can get it for you, but I don't know how we'll get it in here . . . What have you got access to already? What got left behind? I might be able to make you something easier than getting a ready built one in here."

"Make?"

"It's what I do . . . one of the reasons they keep me around," he smirked.

"We keep him around for more than that," Steve assured them all. "Do you know exactly what it is you need to dispose of?"

"Different areas of Terminal City were contaminated by different toxins. So it's probably a case of you name it, we've got it," Alec admitted. "There were different plants and factories and research labs in here before the Pulse hit. It only took a couple losing containment for them all to be evacuated. Over the years, some of the others have been compromised through neglect."

Tony frowned. "Would you show me around? If I got a feel for the place I'll know what best to send in. I'm not sure airdropping this stuff would be a good move though."

"If you're serious, we'll arrange an outside drop and we'll pick it up and transport it in."

Tony nodded. "Sure, we'll figure something out. Like I said though, you might actually have what you need on-site between the different labs and factories. I could come up with an incinerator I'm sure, that was safe, efficient - maybe even gave you extra power out of it. Might be able to cobble together some sort of extractor as well - I mean you might need some filtration gear or maybe some neutralizing chemicals or whatever, but if we could get the bulk of the machinery from what you've already got, it's easier to bring the smaller more specialized stuff in discreetly."

Alec nodded his agreement, leaning forward as he and Tony began to talk about what sort of contaminants they needed to clear. Steve had leaned back in his chair, apparently now happy to let Tony win over Alec with his enthusiasm for a new project, knowing that this was likely the best way to convince the wary Transgenic of their good intentions. The conversation was quick-fire, with the two men bouncing ideas back and forth, each building on the other's ideas. Steve resisted the urge to turn his gaze to Max, although he knew she was watching him. Instead he made himself look as relaxed as he could and waited for Tony and Alec to wind down and remember that the rest of them were there.

When the conversation finally slowed and the two of them remembered they weren't actually alone, they were already in the midst of discussing the possibility of recon through the nearby warehouses and starting to stand up and head out. Alec stopped short when he caught sight of Max and remembered what they'd said beforehand. "Are you okay with this?" he asked, suddenly unsure.

She nodded, "Sure, if we can actually make what we need, surely that would be even better."

He looked relieved and began to head for the door with Tony following him, having told Steve he would be back shortly. He stopped again turning to Tony and saying, "If you're telling me the truth and you're not Transgenic, then what about the poisons?"

Tony looked aghast for a moment, then said, "Good point. Hang on!" He moved across to the briefcase, turning back to Alec for help when one of the other Transgenics stepped into his path to block him.

"Let him pass," Alec said, watching Tony's every move.

Tony reached into the outside pocket and brought out a small tablet, tapping on its screen to activate it. "Monitor pollutants in the vicinity and warn me of any hazardous increases before they are a serious danger to me," he instructed, then shoved the tablet into his pocket and walked back to Alec. "Let's go. As long as I don't touch anything I shouldn't I'll be fine, in the short term."

As the two of them left, Steve turned to Max and said with a smile, "Do you think we can trust them out of our sight? Tony's been known to cause trouble in his sleep!"

"They'll be a good match for each other then," she replied. "I'm sorry that he was so antagonistic."

"His caution is sensible. We hadn't really thought this through from your perspective, only from our own. Hopefully we can build a trust between us and we can begin to make things a little easier for you. Long term, we'd like to help get you all out of here and free, but I think the first thing we have to do is make sure you're all safe with food and whatever health supplies you need. I think it might take us some time to turn public opinion around enough to ensure that you were going to be safe outside."

"I understand that," she agreed.

"It's unfortunate that you are all here in Seattle. It seems to have been more badly affected by the Pulse than the other areas of the country I've seen so far."

"Maybe it's just slower to regenerate," Max suggested. "So what do you mean about the areas you've seen so far?"

"It's a long story. Do you really want to hear it?" Steve smiled wryly. "It's hard to believe it's true!" She relaxed back into her chair, listening intently as he told her the story of how he became Captain America in the 1940s and how he spent seventy years frozen in ice in the Arctic wastes before finally being found and brought back to life.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Max checked her watch again, wondering where Alec was. There were no raiding parties tonight and after the excitement of the intruders earlier in the day, she was really hoping they could catch some time together to talk before it was time to sleep.

He and Tony had returned from their recon mission through the still mostly undisturbed depths of Terminal City with half-hatched plans and what appeared to be an actual budding friendship. It seemed that they had both softened towards each other. The ensuing feedback had been a mishmash of sentences that one would start and the other finish and an enthusiasm to get started on Tony's part that she hoped could only foretell good things.

As they had walked Tony and Steve back to where they had been dropped, conversation had turned to lighter topics and just before they left, Tony had handed a second tablet from his bag to Alec, saying that it was a secure line and while he couldn't always promise to be at the other end of it, he would certainly return any calls Alec might make.

Moments later a pair of rope harnesses had appeared from the clouds above them. The two men had strapped themselves in and then been hoisted upward. As the angle of the craft above them changed, it was possible to see inside the craft where the two men were now landing safely. They gave a final wave before the door closed and the craft vanished.

Alec had looked down at the tablet in his hands thoughtfully and then said, "I'll meet you back at Command Center. There's something I need to do first," and with that he'd blurred down a nearby street before she could stop him and she'd wandered back to Command Center alone, having dismissed Adam's patrol unit to go back to their duties.

It hadn't been long before he appeared only slightly out of breath. She'd shoved a sandwich at him for his lunch and then waited for him to tell her where he'd been. He tucked in, thanking her quickly and already pulling the papers over to continue the work he'd stopped when they'd been called away.

She sighed, "Alec, where's the tablet?"

"Hidden." At first it seemed that was all he was going to say on the matter, but then he relented and looked up at her. "It's hidden in a building he and I went into. An empty one, not one that anyone is going to be using any time soon. It's there for when we want to use it and I'll make sure to check it every day in case they've tried to contact us."

"Why have you hidden it?"

"It's technology. It's something we don't know. If I bring it here, who's to say it won't spy on us, won't be able to track everything that we do. You saw the gadget he had that could monitor his surroundings, work out how toxic it is - maybe this 'tablet' can do the same. Down there, it can't pick anything up except what we want it to pick up."

She had to admit that as a safeguard it made sense. She wished it was easier to spot the people they could trust, to be sure that this offer of help was genuine, because they really needed someone else on their side right now.

She wondered again where he was now and began to think perhaps she should be really worried. Hearing the door open downstairs, she rushed to the head of the stairs to see if it was him. "Joshua!" she said as their roommate climbed the stairs. "Have you seen Alec?"

"Alec with Mole. Working. Using muscle to move heavy things. Gonna build something, Alec said. Busy, gonna be awhile, not back soon."

It eased the worry a little. She guessed he was already getting to work with Mole on collecting and clearing the equipment that he'd found with Tony earlier in the day. In a way she supposed it was a good sign that he actually did believe in the honesty of the offer of help, or maybe it was just that he wanted it to be real. Whichever, it was a start.

# # #

Alec hurt. He ached, bone weary, muscle deep tired, but Mole was still full of energy. "Why are we doing this now?" Mole asked. "Don't get me wrong it's not that I don't want to help, but seriously, you and me alone to move all this shit and clean it up? What's happened to the whole delegation part of leadership? You really haven't got the hang of that."

Alec glanced up, unable to hide just how tired he was or the ache in his back, although he didn't set down his end of the metal tank they were carrying through the deserted streets.

"And that's another reason why we shouldn't be doing this now. You've done too much for one day!"

"Mole, I can't get away during the day. I want someone to help me who I can trust not to start blabbing it to everybody. We can't be sure of anything coming of this, but if this guy Tony actually pulls through then we're going to be able to clear this place up quicker and safer. We might be resistant to the crap they've polluted this place with, but it doesn't do us any favors to be constantly surrounded by it."

"True, but you ever thought that the reason he wants it cleared up is not for our benefit but for theirs. What keeps them from clearing us out? Not the kindness of their hearts that's for sure and I bet it's not that they feel we're safely contained here either. I think it's because they're afraid of what might happen if they set this place alight and how much of the city it might contaminate or because we're free labor - we can clear this place up for them and then they'll get rid of us."

Alec's eyes widened, frightened at the thought that Mole could be right. Maybe this was all just an elaborate ruse. He set down his end of the tank and straightened up. "You think?"

"Ah, what do I know? The only ordinaries I've ever met worked at Manticore. They never rated highly in my people to know better list!"

"They weren't Ordinaries . . . they were part of the Avengers."

"The what?"

"One of the superhero groups in New York . . . You must have heard of them."

"Why must I have heard of them?" Mole looked completely baffled. "Never been to New York."

"They're always on the news reports and stuff on TV," Alec explained.

"Don't waste my time on that. Pfft!" he waved a hand dismissively. "So tell me about them, and while you do, pick up your end so we can finish shifting this and call it a day . . . night . . . whatever."

Alec told Mole what he'd gleaned of the Avengers from the TV reports he'd seen, before going on to tell him how he believed Steve Rogers was actually a Transgenic and then giving his reasons by describing Johnny Storm and his talents.

"Well, I can see what you're thinking and I'm not saying that Manticore wouldn't have wanted to achieve that kind of thing, but who's to say that Manticore were the only ones toying with those kind of genetic manipulations because seriously, someone who can turn into a ball of flame sounds a little too uncontrollable for Manticore. When you think of how much difficulty they had in keeping you guys controlled, what would they have done with someone like him - walked round following him with a fire extinguisher in the hope it not only put out the flames but also subdued the person underneath? Plus they haven't been good enough at it for long enough to have finessed that kind of thing."

"No, I suppose not . . ." Alec agreed reluctantly. "Still seems wrong though that the world is happy to accept them and leaves us shut up in here to rot."

"You're not wrong there, kid. You're not wrong there."

Reaching their destination, they set the tank down and without preamble Mole said, "I'm heading home. We'll do more tomorrow, but that's your lot from me today," and walked out of the warehouse and into the alley beyond quickly vanishing from sight in the gloom of the unlit streets.

Alec leaned back against the tank they had just moved and wondered what to do next. Part of him, a big part, wanted to go home and crawl into bed and curl round Max and just sleep. Another part just wanted to get on, keep preparing things in the hope that everything Tony had said was true and that he would be able to come up with a way to adapt what they had available to make both an incineration unit and a filtration and extraction unit. The problem was Alec needed to get the materials cleaned up enough that the Ordinary could work on them.

There was a small part of him that was reluctant to go home and have to face Max, to know that he - they needed to talk about the kiss she'd given him outside the warehouse earlier in the day. He didn't know what she meant by it, wasn't entirely sure that he even knew what he wanted her to have meant.

As he stood there, he felt his vision waver black at the edges and the room began to swim. He guessed that was the decision being made for him. He took a few deep breaths and then as his vision settled again for the moment, he wearily pushed himself upright and began the long slow walk home, doing his best to ignore Ben who strolled confidently and easily at his side with no sign of the day's weariness. He'd found it harder earlier in the day, when Ben had stood behind Tony making throat slitting gestures to carry on being calm and listening. There had been a big part of him that had wanted to follow through on Ben's suggestion purely to protect his own people from this stranger who had suddenly appeared with offers of help in exchange for nothing. Why would someone, anyone want to help? Why would someone be willing to take these risks when they stood to gain nothing?

Maybe this time Ben was right, maybe it was all a trick and the next time he saw Tony or Steve he should just kill them on the spot and not listen to any more of their lies.

Maybe . . . but maybe there was something inside of him even stronger that wanted to believe in what they'd promised, believe in the hope they offered.

# # #

Mole stood in the shadows out of sight from the warehouse and waited. In the complete silence of the surrounding streets, he could tune his hearing to listen for work inside the warehouse. There was nothing. Whatever Alec was doing in there, it wasn't working.

He was surprised at how long it took for the younger Transgenic to appear in the doorway and begin to wend his way slowly up the street through the mud and noxious smelling puddles. Mole watched as he didn't even try to avoid the detritus that lay scattered around. He was a stubborn son of a gun who should by rights have given in a couple of hours ago, not labored on relentlessly.

Mole supposed that in a way it was a sign of his dedication to making things better for them all. He followed at a distance, never losing sight of Alec for more than the few seconds it took to catch up as he rounded a corner. It was another bad sign for any Transgenic to be so unaware of his surroundings, even here there was plenty of the more obnoxious X5s who wouldn't think twice to take advantage of his weakness to kill him and try to take his position.

More than once Alec staggered, barely staying on his feet and Mole poised ready to move forward and catch him, but as he regained his feet each time, Mole allowed him to continue to struggle on alone, knowing that at least this way he would retain his sense of dignity.

Mole was glad when he finally made it to his own door and let himself in, closing it firmly behind him. Mole relaxed, Alec was home and safe with the people he most trusted, the people who he would allow to look after him. His job was done here for the night. It was time for other priorities to come to the fore.

# # #

_He hadn't seen everything, had come back to 494 after something important had happened, something had changed. He couldn't put the pieces together. 494's head was full, busy and confusing and he found himself overwhelmed, pulling back out to avoid losing himself._

_He'd found 494 talking with two men and Max, surrounded by Transgenic guards. 494's mind had been a welter of conflicting emotions; he'd sensed hope, frustration, anger, determination among the others. There had been plans and safeguards whirling helter skelter until he hadn't known what was what. He couldn't pick one from the next, couldn't order them into a form that made sense to him and so he'd withdrawn, instead focusing his view on 494 himself, making sure that wherever 494's eyes travelled, he moved into his line of sight._

_The difficulty was that on the outside, he couldn't pick up the same information. Without 494's eyes and ears, it was impossible to make sense of what he could see. It was like watching a training film without the commentary; just pictures onto which he had to put his own interpretation._

_He could influence 494's actions more from outside though. Distract him from what he was doing, make visual suggestions. He smiled as he moved behind the darker haired man who seemed to have most of 494's attention. He registered the slight panic in 494's eyes when he noticed him there. He let his grin broaden evilly, reached round the man and drew his hand across his throat as if slitting it and relished the way 494's hands tightened their grip on the edge of the chair he was sitting on._

_He was impressed. 494 was strong, stronger than anyone else he'd ever had to do this to. 494 hadn't broken yet, but it was only a matter of time. It had to be only a matter of time because he needed to succeeded, for his own survival. 494 was irrelevant, he had to think of himself._

_He watched as 494 and Max took the two men back through the disgusting filth that lined the streets of Terminal City, as ropes appeared from the sky and the two men were hoisted high before vanishing. It didn't make sense._

_He tried again to get inside 494's head but it was still too busy, too full for him to wade through the morass. He retreated and watched from a distance, allowed himself the slight amusement as he observed the way in which 494 tried to avoid seeing him. He followed 494 for the rest of the day, drifting in and out of his eye line to keep him edgy and off-kilter._

_He didn't try to get back inside 494's head until later in the evening when he was working. He watched for a while as 494 struggled back and forth with the one he called Mole carrying large metal tanks, sheets of metal and all sorts of other paraphernalia through the deserted streets of this still unclaimed area of Terminal City._

_He hoped that the physical exertion would calm the buzz inside, make it easier to track his thoughts, to try and make sense of what had been happening throughout the day. He was right, while not exactly calm, it was easier to slip in and pick through the memories as 494 pondered over them, shoving them this way and that as he tried to consider every eventuality of each course of action._

_He gleaned as much as he could, knowing that he would be pulled back soon to report. He weighed the consequences of what he might safely say; enough for them to know he had been paying attention, while not trying to say too much. There were still so many things he wasn't sure of; if he made assumptions, jumped to conclusions and they were wrong . . . he couldn't take that risk._

# # #

Max and Joshua were both in the apartment. Joshua had tried to reassure her again that Alec was with Mole and would be fine, but even he had grown more worried as the hours ticked slowly by.

Dinner was prepared and just needed a final blast in the oven to finish it off and the two of them were sitting in an uneasy silence, just waiting. Max was up and off her feet at the first hint of a key in the lock downstairs, rushing to the top of the stairs to watch as Alec closed the door behind him and took a few weary steps forward before starting to pull his clothes off. He toppled onto the lower steps as he lost his balance stripping his t-shirt off and didn't try to get back up as he pulled his shoes and socks off.

Max was by his side before he got to his pants. "What are you doing?" she asked gently, crouching down in front of him and stopping him from standing up to take them down.

"They're covered in crap. I know it's not much of an apartment, but I didn't want to bring the crap upstairs and trail it everywhere," he murmured.

It made sense. His shoes and pants looked like he'd been rolling in the slime and filth from the worst areas of Terminal City. "Let me help," she said, as she stood up. "Lean on me so you keep your balance."

He did as she said, allowing her to support enough of his weight to be able to drop his pants and step out of each leg in turn. She didn't let go then, just kicked his filthy clothing to one side to be dealt with later and began to guide him up the stairs. "Are you ready for something to eat?" she asked as they walked slowly.

"Need to shower first. I feel disgusting!"

"Okay." She guided him straight across the apartment to their room and through into the bathroom where she left him to lean against a cupboard while she adjusted the shower settings. As soon as the water was decently warm, she turned back to him and said, "I think you're good to go. Don't be too long though because I'm just going to flick the oven back on to finish cooking and you need something decent to eat after all the extra physical stuff you've done this evening," and with that she walked out of the room, leaving him to shower in peace.

# # #

Alec knew he shouldn't luxuriate in the shower for too long. He was too tired for it to be a good idea, but he so wanted the water to pummel out the aches in his back and shoulders and seriously if it could wash away the foul stench that was lingering in his nose even though he knew it was no longer actually on him that would be even better.

A moment's dizziness and he propped himself against the wall, praying it would pass without him actually losing his balance and embarrassing himself when Max and Joshua came running to see how he'd fucked up this time. He let the last of the suds wash away then turned off the water and stood for a moment trying to steady himself for the extra sustained effort getting out of the shower, dried and dressed was going to take.

He pulled back the shower curtain and started to step out, only to register Max sitting on the closed toilet seat lid waiting. "Shit!" he said, snatching at the curtain to cover himself. "What are you doing there?"

She smiled at him, making sure her eyes met his, held out a towel in his direction with one hand as she jiggled some clothes in her other hand. She looked away deliberately averting her eyes. He snatched the towel and wrapped it around himself before he said anything else. "Thank you, but even so you could have dropped them in - why did you stay?"

"And have to wait outside to hear you slip, fall and knock yourself out?"

"I didn't do that," he said defensively.

"Only because you're too damn stubborn. Now put some clothes on, dinner's almost ready . . . oh and when I say clothes, these will do because as soon as you've eaten, you are going to bed and you are going to sleep, so these will do."

He didn't have the energy to fight the words or the way she had said them and however much he might have wanted to object about her having brought him the boxers and t-shirt he was used to sleeping in, he actually didn't think he had the energy to get dressed properly for dinner anyway. She didn't move once he'd taken the clothes but she did keep her face firmly in the direction of the door until it sounded like he'd finished getting dried and pulling the clothes on.

She stood up and pushed him in the direction of the toilet to sit and once he was there, she took the towel from where he'd left it hanging and brought it up to scrub at his still dripping wet hair, working it gently but thoroughly back and forth to soak up the worst of the water.

Once she'd finished, he looked up at her and said, "Erm, thanks. Wasn't really expecting that." He took hold of her hand in one of his, then used the other to balance himself as he stood up. Once he was steady, he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. He felt as her arms came up around his waist and she hugged him.

"I think you said something about food," he said, uncertain what to do next, but her grin broadened as she shifted their positions so his arm was over her shoulder and hers was round his waist as they left the bathroom and headed for the table so they could eat.

# # #

The meal had been quiet, none of them having much to say and Joshua had cleared the plates once they'd finished and taken it upon himself to clean up, leaving Alec with nothing to do but head to bed. It didn't take him long to clean his teeth, comb out his hair where it still stuck at all angles from when Max had scrubbed it earlier.

When he came out of the bathroom, he wasn't surprised to see Max sitting on the side of the bed. He took a deep breath and began to speak. "Max, I don't know what we're trying to do here . . . between us." He ignored her smirk. "But I'm not sure that it would be a good thing. We have to think about more than just you and me. We're responsible for damage caused by us to the rest of Terminal City. If . . . If we . . . or I fuck this up, then what? How do we maintain our credibility? How can we put everybody's welfare first, not just what we want for the minute?"

"So you think it's not going to last! I think it will and I don't think it's anyone's business but our own," she said defiantly.

"But when it all goes wrong and you can't bear the sight of me and we still have to . . ."

She stood up and moved across to him, resting her hands on the jut of his hip-bones. She rose up on her tip-toes and kissed him gently on the lips. "We don't need to tell anyone and if it should all fall apart on us, hopefully we can be civil and put the good of everyone here ahead of ourselves. Now, you need to get yourself into that bed and get some sleep. I'm going to take my turn in the bathroom and then I'll be in to join you, so make sure you're not hogging all the covers," she teased, finishing by pressing another kiss, this time to his cheek before she pushed him away and stepped round him and into the bathroom.

Alec climbed into bed and felt as his body immediately settled as if he was ready to fall straight asleep. He heard Max come out of the bathroom, could tell without opening his eyes that she had turned the last of the lights off and as he felt the bed dip beside him, he lifted an arm and let Max settle in against him. It was the final push he needed to drop over into a restful and dreamless slumber.

# # #

Steve sighed. He didn't need to ask Jarvis where Tony was, he knew. He knew that Tony was in exactly the same place he'd been since they arrived back from Seattle the previous evening. "Jarvis, has Tony eaten anything since we got back?" he asked instead.

"Mr Stark has partaken of a number of energy bars which were in his workshop, sir."

"Has he had anything that might remotely be called food?"

"Only the energy bars, sir . . . and copious amounts of caffeine." Steve thought he could hear a hint of guilt in Jarvis' tone that he was tattling on his owner and creator.

"So he hasn't slept either, has he?" Steve had a feeling this also went without saying.

"No, sir."

"That isn't good for his health, would you agree, Jarvis?"

"I would agree, however, it is not entirely unheard of previously, sir."

"I'm sure. Right, I have a plan. Are you in?"

"Indubitably, sir. I feel sure that I will find it within my parameters to assist you in any way that I can. Food or rest first, sir?"

"Food, I don't want to risk him waking up as soon as his body has chance of realizing that not only is it exhausted but that he hasn't been feeding it either."

"Take-out menus are in the kitchen drawer, sir. The top one on the left of the refrigerator. All of the establishments are willing to deliver here in a timely fashion and we have existing accounts to cover the costs. If I might suggest the Italian restaurant this evening. Signora Pacelli may well be persuaded to supply a 'special' for Mr Stark. It is a deceivingly healthy dish, which Mr Stark enjoys, since he has not realized quite how healthy it is. Signora Pacelli can be relied upon to use only high quality and organic ingredients although this is also a fact that is not reflected upon the menu in the drawer."

"Really, you'd think she'd want to use that information to promote her business. I would have thought they would have been key selling points."

"Oh they are, sir. And if one has the standard menu that is most clearly stated. However, I took the liberty of scanning the aforementioned menu and printing one out that would at first glance appear to be their standard menu but without any unnecessary information that might dissuade Mr Stark from choosing their delectable food."

"That's pretty deceitful, Jarvis. Surprising as this may be, I heartily approve in this case. Someone needs to be looking out for Tony. So Signora Pacelli's special for Tony and what would you recommend for me?"

# # #

Steve had picked up the take out delivery at the door and was now heading for the workshop having already arranged with Jarvis to have plates and cutlery delivered. He figured it was his best chance of actually getting Tony to eat, rather than trying to physically drag him out of the workshop. The plan was to feed Tony and distract him enough from his work that Steve could convince him he needed sleep to perform better. For the minute he was resisting the suggestion of putting a sedative into Tony's food or anything that he was drinking; he'd keep that as a fallback option for when all else had failed.

Jarvis had also admitted that he had replaced the coffee supply with a decaffeinated version but had made it slightly stronger and had added extra sweetener so that Tony thought that he was still getting his caffeine with an extra dose of sugar when in reality he was getting neither.

Steve had lived in the Tower for long enough to know that while he didn't necessarily agree with the sneaky methods Jarvis was employing, there was a fair chance that he would be resorting to duct taping Tony's wrists and ankles together and physically carrying him to his bed and sitting there with him until he fell asleep before the end of the evening.

He rapped on the workshop door, but Tony didn't even look up. Jarvis was clearly aware of his presence though as the door slid open and a wave of loud thrashing music hit him from inside. Steve stepped inside and the music quieted by several decibels. He crossed the room to the clearer of the workbenches, not the one that Tony was currently using and began to spread out the cartons of food. "Sir, if you would care to go to the hatch in the corner, plates and cutlery are available for your use there."

It didn't take long to have everything laid out and so he crossed over to Tony, noticing as he did so that Jarvis had dropped the music level even further. It was almost quiet enough that they would be able to talk as they ate. All of a sudden Tony seemed to stop what he was doing and look up. "Jarvis, why are you messing with my music?"

"You have a visitor, sir," Jarvis intoned blandly.

"Who is it? Who have you let in this time?"

"Me," Steve said from behind him. "I just need you to help me with something over here for a minute, then I'm sure . . ." He didn't have time to finish before Tony had crossed the room to see what he needed help with.

"But? This is food! Why do you need my help?"

"Because there's too much for just me and I figured you had to be getting hungry by now and there's no way you'd be irresponsible and not eat enough to keep your health and fitness in order in case we were called on a mission."

Tony shuffled awkwardly, before saying, "Course I wouldn't do that, so, er, what have we got?"

"Some specials from a little Italian place not too far away."

Tony stepped up to the workbench and looked over the array of containers spread before him. He pulled off a piece of garlic bread and began to munch on it as he continued his perusal. "Oooh," he said all of a sudden, pulling a container closer, "Is this Signora Pacelli's special? You won't like this one; it's an acquired taste . . . too rich for your 1940s Depression era taste buds." Tony had already snagged a fork and begun eating straight from the container, so Steve ducked his head to hide his smile and picked up a different container and put some of its contents on a plate before taking another fork and beginning to eat.

# # #

Tony was about halfway down the container of Signora Pacelli's special before he began to survey the other containers and setting down what he'd been eating he pulled off another piece of garlic bread and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Always glad to help you out, Cap," he said. "I might just have been getting a little peckish there for a time so I'm pleased you thought of me."

"What are you working on?" Steve asked.

"Plans for an incineration unit and some sort of filtration system for Terminal City so they can get that place cleaned up some."

"How's the work going?"

Tony started to enthuse about his ideas and what he'd managed to get down on paper so far and Steve listened astounded by just how much he had achieved to that point. It only made him more convinced that Tony needed to take a break before he exhausted himself completely. "You haven't taken a proper break since we got back, perhaps after we eat, you could go and sleep for a while."

Tony waved dismissively. "Not tired yet. I'm good."

"No, you are not," Steve said, firmly.

Tony looked up startled, for a moment lost for words, then his mouth seemed to kick back into gear and he said, "I beg your pardon? What did you just say?"

"I said, no you are not 'good'. You need rest and it is acceptable to take the time to rest. The Transgenics will last an extra eight hours without what you're working on while you get some sleep."

Tony stared, wide-eyed and unbelieving at the words he was hearing.

"Would you rather fall off your rope as we enter Terminal City next time? Or maybe, you'd rather make a little slip that has the whole thing blowing up in your or even their faces?" Steve was determined.

"You're not my mother!" Tony objected.

"No, I'm certain I'm not. I'm pretty certain she'd agree with me though, if she were here."

"Don't give me that! You didn't know my mother!" Tony pushed back from the table and began to pace the room before returning to the other workbench and picking up and slamming down again various of his tools. "Jarvis! Music now!"

"No, sir," Jarvis replied blandly.

"No, sir? What do you mean 'No, sir'? You can't refuse to play my music."

"Yes, sir, I can. You were in the middle of a conversation with Mr Rogers, sir, and my coding states that music should be kept at a level that enables reasonable social interaction when there are visitors present. You coded me, sir, if you don't mind my reminding you of that fact. It was following a similar situation with Ms Potts which resulted in her giving you notice of her intention to depart the company and, you won't mind if I access my databanks and quote her words directly, 'You could stew in your own juices, holed up in your workshop with your toys until your caffeine and energy bars ran out and you died a lonely old man without anyone who would give you the time of day, let alone actually want to have a conversation or see you with any regularity.'"

Even Steve winced at the words, but Tony seemed to steel himself not to show anything at all. "The situation is not even remotely the same. Pepper had some little tiny, miniscule cause to feel the way she did on that one occasion. This is not the same, nor is it even remotely the same. For a start, Captain America over there was leaving because that 'sort of' conversation we were having was over." Tony nodded determinedly.

Steve was about to interrupt but Jarvis got there first. "You are wrong, sir. May I point out that this is one of those occasions in which Ms Potts might suggest that you were missing certain vital socially interactive cues?"

"I am not missing any social cues!" Tony insisted adamantly.

"Yes, sir. You are."

"Name one."

"Captain Rogers has not left, sir. That is an indicator that the conversation between you is not over."

Tony paused as if confused for a moment, then frowned and turned back to Steve. "What have you done to Jarvis? He - he. . . I mean Pepper, yes, okay. Pepper is one thing, one person but now you too! You don't even understand what technology is, yet still you manage to convert it, twist it to your own ends. How do you even do that? Subvert MY machines and get them to do what you want them to do."

"I've done nothing to Jarvis," Steve replied calmly. "Jarvis merely has your best interests at heart."

Tony rolled his eyes and stalked to the far side of the room then turned. Backed against the wall, he faced Steve angrily.

"We all have your best interests at heart, Tony, and those of the Transgenics. Inferior quality production or delivery of what you're planning isn't going to be good enough. Without sleep at this point, you can't do a good enough job. This hasn't really got anything to do with me, or Jarvis, or your mother. It's about Howard and making sure that he isn't the one to blame for this mess or if he was in any way responsible for any of it, that you are doing something to balance that. You are not responsible for his mess. You are not responsible for anyone's mess but your own and you do not have to take the whole of the world on your shoulders." Steve crossed the room to stand directly in front of Tony. "You are the good guy. Good guys get to fix things, but they need to take the time to sleep so that when they do, they do it right and they get to see the good that they've done."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Tony said, weakly.

"You're tired, Tony. Tell me honestly that that isn't true?" There was no reply. "You can't and that's fine."

"You saw where they were living," Tony's words were defensive.

"No, we didn't. We saw what they wanted us to see. We saw what Terminal City was like when they moved in, but they're soldiers with nothing to do and they've been in there for a few months now. It isn't all like that anymore. I'm not saying that they don't need more space, don't need these . . . these things you're designing because they do, but the time it takes for you to sleep is not going to be the difference they need."

"What do you mean they're not living there?" Tony seemed confused.

"I would lay a bet with you that they've been working to improve their environment ever since they all ended up trapped in there. They may be resistant to the damage of the chemicals, but they don't like them. They are trained to survive in adverse conditions. They also had no reason yet to trust us, so why show us what they have achieved? Why not show us what we already knew they had to deal with?"

"They were lying?"

"No, they do need this to finish that clearing up, but what they need more is to protect themselves and we have to respect that, until we can offer them proof that we have their best interests at heart."

"So my best interests, their best interests . . . I'm sensing a theme."

Steve smiled, Tony's snark was weak by his usual standards, but Steve took it as him trying to save face and he could live with that. "Well, we'll get to my best interests later and then we'll be all square."

"Yeah," came the quiet reply. "I want to send a message to Alec, to let him know what I've done so far. You're not going to stop me doing that, are you? Sending him the blue prints of how much I've got so far?"

"I wouldn't stop you doing that, no. But the rest can wait until morning."

Tony had moved back to his workbench and begun typing his message and sending it to the tablet he'd left with Alec in Terminal City. "Jarvis, shut everything down," he said a few minutes later as he turned to the door. "I guess I'm taking a break now." Steve smiled and followed him out, figuring he could come back and clean up the remains of their meal later, once he was sure that Tony had indeed gone to get some rest.

"So Cap, what would be in your best interests?"

Steve smirked, but didn't say anything, just mentally pictured team-mates who didn't constantly cause trouble when they weren't on missions.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Reed stomped into the apartment he shared with his wife and her brother. "Johnny?"he demanded of his wife, a tight rein on the anger and frustration he was feeling. "Where's Johnny?"

Sue came out of the kitchen. "Reed? What's the matter? You're home early."

"Where's Johnny and what's he done now?"

"He went out, some teen project getting disillusioned youth involved in community projects or something. He's trying, Reed, so please, be a little patient."

Reed shook his head and stalked over to the couch, where he unceremoniously dropped down and let out a weary sigh. When Sue sat down beside him and slipped her hand into his hair, fingers scritching soothingly, he looked up and gave a tired smile. "I'm sorry, Sue. I've just had . . . a bad day. Finances, projects not going to plan and playing voicemail ping pong with Tony Stark about your brother."

"Tony Stark? Why? What does he want with Johnny?"

"A sample of his blood apparently. I'm sorry, Sue, but there's only really one reason I can think of why Tony would want a sample of Johnny's blood and that's if he wants to carry out some sort of paternity test, although he didn't admit that."

"Paternity? Johnny?" Sue gasped. "No! There's got to be some sort of mistake!"

"I don't know, Sue, I really don't. I'd like to think that Johnny had more sense than that, but then he goes and does something else reckless and stupid and I'm reminded just how reckless and stupid he can be and that perhaps this really is a possibility, however much I hope it isn't."

"Look, when he gets back, I'll talk to him and we'll find out. It might just be some girl wanting to make out she got pregnant by a superhero and maybe all we need to do is just get him to give a sample and then we can sweep it all under the carpet and forget about it because he hasn't been that stupid for once."

"I hope you're right."

# # #

Johnny let himself into the house quietly. He'd had a good day. He was surprised by how much he'd actually enjoyed working on the project to get groups of disillusioned youngsters involved in community programs to improve their areas and give them something less destructive to do. He'd finished up his work and then headed out to a club, which was always a good way to wind down and relax with a little attention and a few drinks. He'd had a few offers during the evening, but he'd decided that he wasn't really interested. He was growing up, just like Reed kept nagging him to do, and grown ups apparently didn't sleep with a new girl every night.

He wasn't sure that bit was really going to work out for him, but he could at least give it a try for a couple of days and see how it panned out. He figured that at that point he'd be able to at least reason with Reed and say that he'd tried it and it wasn't going to work for him long term and then maybe his sister's husband would finally give him a break. It wasn't like he wasn't doing something good with the rest of his time. Surely he didn't need to have a stick inserted up his ass and end up as a clone of Reed. Urgh! He couldn't think of anything worse.

He was closing and locking the door and simultaneously slipping off his shoes in the hope of sneaking through the house without waking anyone up to give him a hard time. He bent down to pick up his shoes and as he turned round he caught sight of the dim light shining beside the couch in the lounge. Someone was up.

He wondered whether he could sneak past without them noticing, although he figured that was pretty unlikely. He straightened up and pushing aside all earlier thoughts, began to saunter down towards the light.

"Johnny, hey," Sue greeted. "Will you come and sit down for a bit? I need to talk to you about something."

He nodded and went over to sit beside her, immediate concern for her well-being as he took in her unhappy, but not angry expression. As soon as he was sitting down, he dropped his shoes to the floor and pulled her closer to him. "What's wrong, Susie? Has something happened between you and Reed? Is he okay?"

She nodded, even as she returned his hug. "I know you're trying, Johnny. The projects, the not getting into trouble and drawing attention to yourself all the time. I know it's been hard adjusting and that . . . I need to ask you something though."

He looked at her, expression confused. "Trying what?"

"Trying to be responsible and good."

"Er, yeah. I am. That's where I was all day. I mean, not all day, but daytime day. I went for a few drinks with friends this evening."

"That's fine, Johnny. I don't expect you to never go out and nor does Reed. Look, there's been something . . ." she sighed.

He watched her, waiting for her to explain, figuring that at least if he kept quiet he wouldn't incriminate himself and get himself into trouble with something they didn't know about yet.

"Johnny . . . is there any chance that you could have got someone pregnant? A girl somewhere?"

Before he could stop himself, he said, "Well, it wouldn't be a boy I got pregnant now, would it?" then gulped, looked chastened and said much quieter, "I'm careful . . . I'm pretty sure the answer's no. Why is someone saying I have?"

"Tony Stark called Reed. He wanted a sample of your blood. It's the only reason we can think of for him to want that."

"Tony? Why would they go to him? I don't exactly have anything to do with him that often."

"Unless they thought he'd have the money to take care of a baby that . . . had some of your powers."

Johnny looked horrified. "My powers? A baby that sets itself and everything around it on fire. Shit! There's no way that can end well. If - if it is mine, I'll look after it, I'll figure something out, Susie, I promise."

She smiled at him sadly and said softly, "And I'm here with you, Johnny."

# # #

Johnny hadn't really slept at all and was up and in the kitchen making coffee and breakfast and looking repeatedly at his watch, wondering how early was too early to call Tony Stark. Sue came out of her room, wrapped in a robe and made her way across to him. She frowned as she asked, "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not so much that you'd notice," he said. "Breakfast? I cooked."

She squeezed his arm affectionately as he served her a plate of eggs and bacon and pancakes and let her take them over to the breakfast bar, where he joined her a few moments later with his own plate. "There's enough for Reed too," he said, before beginning to eat. When it looked like her attention was completely on her food, he said, "So I was thinking of maybe going to see Tony today . . . you know, see if he'll shed some light on who it is. I might be able to quash this before - well, before anything really."

She looked up, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I'm a big boy now," he smirked. "If I'm big enough to . . . what's that saying about being big enough to cause the trouble I'm big enough to face it?"

"No idea, but there's facing it and facing it with someone at your back. I've got your back in this, Johnny."

"Do you want to see Pepper then? We could . . . I've been thinking all night, Sue and I wish I knew what was going on. Hell, at three this morning I nearly phoned Tony to find out. I just didn't think that would really help my case any. I mean if she's gone to him, how big an asshole must she think I am?"

"We don't know, Johnny. We don't know. We'll finish up and then I'll call Pepper and check that Tony is going to be in the office today and then we'll head straight round there. When we come back, you can chill out in front of the TV with some popcorn. How does that sound?"

"Like I'm fourteen again and you're trying to cheer me up." The two of them shared a fond grin and as the bedroom door opened and Johnny stood up and moved back into the kitchen to begin work on a third breakfast. As soon as it was ready he took it back over to the table and sat down alongside Reed with a good morning and an apology for the previous day. Reed sighed and carried on eating his breakfast. "I'm sorry, Reed, this really isn't anything I expected."

"That's kind of the problem isn't it, Johnny?" Reed sighed in frustration. "You never expect anything. You never think things through. What would it take for you to actually think about the consequences of what you do? We'd all be better off if you could be sensible and actually pay attention to the right thing and not just let stuff happen because it looked fun and then we all have to pick up the pieces to deal with the consequences of your . . ."

Sue sat down on his other side, looking grim. "That's not fair, Reed. Johnny takes precautions when it comes to his partners and you know he's been making a huge effort to be more cautious. Not everyone can go through life with a huge stick up their ass, maybe you need to let loose a little every now and then, give some attention to your family and not just all of the gadgets in your lab!"

"Susie, don't," Johnny hushed. "Reed's right, I don't always think everything through and you guys have had to help clear up my messes for too long. I'll deal with this one on my own. I'll find myself an apartment and I'll –"

Sue glared at her husband and then at her brother, "No, you will not find an apartment. You think I want to miss out on the chance to spend time with my nephew or niece. Well, you're wrong. Anyway, Johnny, a few sleepless nights and you'll need someone to give you a hand. I can be that someone. Reed!" she snapped at her husband as if expecting him to back up what she'd just said.

Johnny shook his head and pushed back from the table, standing up ready to leave. "It'll be okay, Susie, I promise." He gave a shaky smile as he stepped away.

Sue was out of her seat and round to stand in front of him. "You're not going anywhere on your own! You think I've raised you this long and looked out for you to let you walk away and make me miss out on the good bits! Well," she poked him in the chest, "You'd better think again, Jonathon Storm! You have no right to be so selfish!"

Johnny's eyes flicked to Reed, who was still munching quietly on his breakfast ignoring them both.

Sue huffed and kicked out at Reed's chair leg, jerking him from his stupor before saying, "Maybe WE will get an apartment together then, because I don't want to be here."

Reed's face snapped round in horror, "What? Why? No!"

Sue glared at him, until he began to stutter an explanation, "I was thinking about an inflammable baby and the problems that would cause. I was trying to come up with a way to improve the absorbency of the material I made your suit out of, Johnny, to see if there was a way to make inflammable diapers, and onesies they shouldn't be too much of a problem, I mean it's basically just a smaller version of your suit. Then I was thinking about how I could install a GPS tracking system into all of its clothes because if it can fly as part of its skill sets, well we'd have a lot of trouble keeping it in one place and well if we were babysitting or someone else was babysitting, you know, while we were out fighting evil or whatever well then we'd need to be sure that either the baby couldn't get away or they could at least track where the baby was and go get it back!"

Johnny and Sue both stared aghast at Reed's suggestions.

"You want to put a GPS on my baby?" Johnny hissed.

"Well, no, but I wouldn't want to lose your baby and that seemed like the best way to make sure that didn't happen."

"You were trying to make plans for the baby? You weren't ignoring us?" Sue demanded.

"Ignoring you . . . no. Why? What did you say?"

"Johnny was going to move out with the baby."

"He was!" He turned to Johnny. "You were! Why would you do that? A baby is a lot of responsibility, a big job. You should have as much family around you as you can when you're having a baby to help deal with everything. I don't think that's a good idea, Johnny. Now is not the time to be spreading your wings and flying the nest so to speak. So I was thinking that maybe we could give Virginia Potts a call to arrange to meet up with Tony today and then we could all go down and find out what exactly is going on, whether there's any truth to the accusations. I mean this might just be a girl who's out to make a buck or two or it might be someone who's had a baby with powers that resemble Johnny's. This could just be a matter of eliminating the possibilities. So I think we should go round there as soon as we can so that everyone can figure out where they stand and the child can be looked after in the best way possible."

Johnny and Sue both stood in shocked silence, not quite sure what to do now after Reed's speech. "So I guess apartment hunting is crossed off the list of things to do today then," Johnny said, with a somewhat subdued measure of his usual flippancy. "So Tony Stark, huh?"

Now it was just a matter of waiting to see what happened.

# # #

Tony was in his workshop when his visitors arrived. Steve let them in and showed them down asking Jarvis to lower the music as they entered. Steve called out to Tony, who looked up and dropped what he'd been doing back to the workbench. "Guys! Hi!" he said, falsely bright. "You're all here, I see . . ."

"No, Ben's not here. We haven't mentioned the situation to him yet. Figured we'd see if we could get things ironed out before then," Reed said intently. Steve took in the serious frown and slight tilt forward as if he wanted to invade Tony's space to make his point more strongly. It was an almost aggressive move, yet Steve didn't think Reed intended it as such. Perhaps it was that rather than being defensive, he wanted to seem more confident and assertive than he actually felt. Steve wondered how much Tony had actually got around to explaining about what he was trying to figure out. It didn't look like it had been well-received anyway.

Steve shifted his attention, turning to look across at Sue and Johnny. Sue looked worried but not threatening. He could see the similarity that Alec had seen, face shape, build. She could have been Max's double were it not for the different coloring and the slight age difference. In a couple of years, hair color aside, Steve imagined Max would look very like this.

Johnny was drifting round the workshop, hands behind his back as he peered at one thing after another. He reminded Steve of a child in a shop full of trinkets who had been told to look with their eyes and not under any circumstance to touch anything on pain of some severe retribution. As the young man turned, Steve could see the shadows of a sleepless night under his eyes and a hint of worry that he was doing his best to hide.

It wasn't like looking in a mirror though. Johnny was younger, his hair short, buzzed close and it seemed darker than Steve's own. He was fit but not as muscular as Steve, lithe and leaner. Steve almost envied him the way his clothes fit loose and easy, a neat comfortable fit, rather than the way in which Steve found so many clothes now hugged his own body like a second skin. But there was a resemblance, the chin, the eyes . . . enough that perhaps you could mistake a family bond.

He sighed. He wasn't worried by the prospect of being related to Johnny as such; figured he could take the younger man under his wing, give him a little guidance. He'd read reports about him that Jarvis had managed to locate, had found out about his parents' death, something he himself could relate to. The difference seemed to be that Steve had used his parents' death to drive himself to achieve, Johnny in a different age and environment had gone a little 'off the rails'. Steve could see though that he wasn't a bad kid, didn't mean any harm at all. In actual fact he had a good heart and did seem to genuinely want to make other people happy.

He looked up at Tony and wondered what the man would find with his tests, how he'd even begin to explain it to them. It seemed so ridiculous but then so much had changed, why not this? Asked all those years ago if he'd have believed in the possibility of what they'd seen on the TV about Manticore, he'd never have guessed. Maybe it was easier for people today to accept this kind of thing.

He forced himself out of his own thoughts, determinedly fixing on the conversation before him. He needed to pay attention or he was going to miss something important, something that might begin to answer some of the many questions they all had.

# # #

There was an awkward silence in the room as everybody stood waiting for someone else to break the silence. Tony fidgeted, wanting to stop Johnny poking into his projects, but as the younger man kept his hands clasped behind his back, he managed to restrain himself from dragging him away.

"So . . ." Tony said eventually. "This is awkward." He caught Steve's eyes, saw the other man grimace and just shrugged in return. "I didn't think you'd all come."

"I've already told you it's just the three of us," Reed said peremptorily, cutting himself off when Sue put a hand on his arm and gave him a look. "Sorry," he apologized half-heartedly. "Can we get on with this?"

"Er, yeah, I guess so." Tony looked across at Johnny, who was now circling Dummy and his ever-present fire-extinguisher.

"Is that deliberate? Some kind of joke?" Johnny asked, unsure.

"Huh? What? Oh, Dummy, you mean? No, well, yes, no. Yes, it's deliberate; no, it's not a joke and nothing to do with you. . . It's just Dummy being cautious in case I set something on fire. Sorry." Tony turned to the robot and said, "Dummy, put it down and go away. I'm not working, nothing is going to combust. Shoo!"

Dummy spun on the spot, let out a puff of the extinguisher in Tony's direction and then rolled away. Tony coughed, brushed the powdery foam off and frowned, shouting after the robot, "I can dismantle you and use you for spare parts and don't you forget that!"

There was another puff of extinguisher foam into the air above the robot's head as it continued its journey to the far side of the workshop.

Tony shrugged and looked at Johnny. Johnny shuffled in his place, head down before mumbling, "Where is she?"

"She who?"

"The girl who came to you. Why'd she come to you? Where's the baby?"

Tony frowned, seemingly at a loss, looked across at Steve who just shrugged. "No idea what you're talking about."

"You called Reed. You said you needed a blood sample to prove paternity, so who says I got them pregnant? Stop acting like you don't know why we're here." Johnny's voice was sharp, his posture tense.

Tony's eyes went wide with shock, "Pregnant? Shit! Fuck! No! No, that's not what I meant! You told him I thought he'd got somebody pregnant? What would that have to do with me?"

"I don't know what it had to do with you, Tony. But you said you needed a blood sample to test paternity, what else was I supposed to get from that?"

"Fuck, no! Him? That is a terrifying thought. Almost as terrifying as someone claiming I'd got them pregnant. Can you imagine?"

Seeing her brother bristle angrily, Sue stepped forward, brushing her hand against him for an instant in the hope of reassuring him, before she put herself between him and Tony Stark and said, pointedly, "Then exactly what type of 'paternity' are you hoping to test, Tony?"

"His paternity and if you're up for it, yours too, I guess." Tony said it so simply as if there was nothing to it.

"We know who our father is," Sue's voice brooked no argument. "We have no need of a paternity test."

Tony flushed suddenly embarrassed as he realized just how big a mistake he'd made in what he'd said and done so far. Steve stepped forward to join the tightening circle and spoke calmly, "I know you had a father, but is there any chance he might not have been your biological father? Let us explain a little more. Can we all sit down?" He gestured to the stools and the couch in various locations around the workshop, gave everyone a minute to get themselves seated and then began to talk.

He explained the trip he and Tony had made to Seattle to meet the Transgenics, giving away no information about how they had got into Terminal City or what help they planned to give.

"Transgenics?" Reed said, eagerly. "Fascinating! I've always wanted to find out more about them. What exactly were the improvements that they made? How did they go about it? What science can achieve is remarkable!"

Steve moved closer to Tony as he recognized the anger growing in the other man. "Be that as it may," he said, cutting off Reed's thoughts. "We met and talked with some of them and they happened to point out certain similarities between certain individuals who had been in the news of late. Among them were myself and Johnny. Now obviously, we don't share a father, nor am I Johnny's father, but it may be that we have . . . something . . . some bond."

Johnny looked up at him sharply, eyes narrowing. "Why? What purpose do you have to finding out about a bond? How would it have happened?"

"Johnny!" Sue hushed him, then turned back to Tony and Steve, "What if we say no?"

"Then we forget about it, leave it be and ignore it," Steve said calmly, tone conciliatory. "We're not -"

He was cut short as Tony interrupted, "Why wouldn't you agree to it? Unless you already know something?" Sue turned away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Sue?" Reed said. "Do you know something?"

She stood up angrily, glaring at her husband. "We're through here! Johnny, come on, we're leaving!"

Johnny stood up, moving to his sister's side. "Susie?"

"We're going!" she insisted, clutching at his arm and beginning to pull him towards the door.

Johnny looked back at the others, sharing his bafflement with them, but he didn't stop, just accompanied his sister as she left the room, leaving the other men behind as none of them tried to stop her.

# # #

Johnny followed his sister, concerned by what he'd heard so far, but still willing to listen. Whatever it was, he was sure, was going to shatter some of his 'happy family' illusions about his life before his mother died, but one thing didn't change, Susie had loved him and always looked out for him, so even if he didn't like whatever she was about to say, he couldn't hold it against her.

Sue hurried through the corridors of the Stark Tower when a voice suddenly stopped them in their tracks. "Ms. Storm, or is it Mrs Reed now? I am sorry to interrupt and I know that you and your brother are leaving but I just thought that perhaps if I could offer you a room in which to discuss matters privately before you leave that would give you the option of returning if you wished later. There is no obligation and I assure you that I would give you the utmost privacy in this matter. I intend no deception."

"Jarvis!" Sue said as she registered the voice. "Jarvis, thank you, but no. No, this is something that . . ."

"Susie, wait! Please," Johnny interrupted her. "Jarvis, do you guarantee that no recording, no relay of any conversation between myself and Susie will happen? Will you ensure that there is absolutely no way of anyone finding out what was discussed between me and my sister, unless we decide to share that information?"

"Absolutely, sir. I offer my personal guarantee that no one will be allowed to discover in any form the content of your discussion and no recording of any kind will be made. Absolute privacy and discretion. I will not even inform Mr Stark that you are still on the premises and the door shall remain locked until you open it."

"Susie," he took her hands in his and looked at her. "You need to tell me what's going on. If we take Jarvis' offer, you can tell me what it is you're thinking, we can talk about it and decide what to do next. If we go home, we're on Reed's ground and he will demand to know and then he gets to choose what he wants to do with that information."

"He'll . . . he'll find out eventually because if I don't tell him -"

"Let's take Jarvis' offer," Johnny said, wiping his thumb below her eye as a tear began to run down her cheek. "Let's talk now, just you and me," he said, taking her in his arms.

She hugged him back and then nodded. "Okay. Okay. Jarvis, thank you, we will take your offer."

A door opened automatically a little further down the corridor and Jarvis said, "If you'd just make your way to the room on the right." Once they were inside, Jarvis spoke again, "Please make yourselves at home. I am about to engage full privacy mode, however, should you require my assistance with anything or need anything further if you pick up the telephone on the side dresser, I shall reactivate the room and be at your disposal immediately."

The door closed and the lock clicked isolating them from the rest of the house. They waited for a minute or two, then Johnny said, "Jarvis?" but there was no response.

Sue paced the length of the room, but Johnny just felt tired. The room they were in was clearly a little used guest bedroom. It was clean, ready for guests but had an air of loneliness to it. It was spartan by comparison with what they had seen of the rest of the Tower's living areas, a large dark wood bed frame with stark, crisp white bedding. A dark dresser along one wall, with a telephone, flat screen TV and a lamp. There was a small desk and comfortable office chair in the same dark wood with an antique looking lamp that seemed to fit with the decor. A small closet was the final piece of furniture. Sue walked across to the door beside the closet and opened it to reveal a bathroom. She closed the door firmly and walked back to sit alongside Johnny on the end of the bed.

"Oh, Johnny," she sighed, leaning in to his side as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"I wasn't his then," Johnny said, simply.

"Neither of us was," she said. "I don't know everything, but I do know that Mom and he couldn't . . . it didn't work, she never got pregnant or carried to term or . . . something . . . She had treatment . . . That's how she got us, both of us, not just you."

"Doesn't change anything important. You're still my sister," he said bluntly.

She smiled, despite the tears in her eyes, "No, you're right. It doesn't change anything important."

"So you think maybe I'm related to Rogers then? Do you think he's my father? Am I going to grow up big and strong like him? With all those over-developed muscles and the floppy hair and that appalling dress sense?"

She laughed a little, wiping the tears away and gave him an affectionate shove, "Stupid is what you are growing up to be!" She looked at him seriously, "I don't see how he could be your father though. He was in the ice for seventy years."

"Frozen sperm. That's what they do, right? In all of those labs, they freeze sperm and store it."

"Yeah, but not with its owner!" she teased. "Anyway, he'd have gone under too early and they didn't find him again until too late to make him your father, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be related, I guess."

"What about you? Do you think you're related to him as well?"

"I don't know. I really don't."

Their conversation drifted on to what they were going to do next, the reality that they weren't going to be able to hide the truth from the men down in the workshop and that once Reed knew, he would be too intrigued to let the matter drop. They tried to imagine what the different possibilities of going through with the tests would be, deciding that at the end of the day what difference did it make to either of them. If Steve was related, he was related, it didn't mean they were looking for anything from him and it wouldn't change what they were to each other. If he wasn't, then nothing had changed at all.

"Simple then, we let Tony do the tests, it tells us whether Steve is some kind of distant relation and then we just go back to our lives with nothing changed and nothing hanging over us," Johnny said, pushing himself up and beginning to head for the door.

Sue didn't move, her eyes still on the floor. Johnny stopped, looked at her and said, "What? What more is there?"

She bit her lip, eyes on the floor, unwilling to voice her fears. He crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of her and said, "What, Susie? What is it?"

"What if," she whispered, "What if it shows that we aren't brother and sister?" Her hand clasped tight around his.

"Then, I guess, it would give you the right to get rid of me for all the stupid shit I put you through." He looked up into her eyes and added, "But I won't go easily, after all, there is no one else who has ever been willing to put up with all my stupid shit!"

She breathed a sigh of relief, leaning in and pulling him closer. "You're my brother. You ARE my brother," she said determined.

He beamed at her, then climbed to his feet and pulled her up, holding her hand as they made their way back through the Tower to the workshop.

# # #

Reed leaned forward eagerly as the door swung shut behind his wife and brother in law. "So," he said earnestly, "What are they like? The Transgenics? It must be fascinating to see how those scientists developed super soldiers, amazing work. The potential, the sheer wealth of possibilities in a project like that. . ."

Steve glared and Tony bristled angrily, but Reed carried on blindly. "I'd have loved to be involved with something that had that kind of potential. To imagine something so huge and to have the money and the backing and the resources to truly -"

He cut short when Tony dropped a wrench, loudly onto the floor, the sound of the metal clanging off the bare concrete. He looked up at Tony and Steve and registered the two menacing glares he was receiving. "Er..." he said, uncertainly. "Did I miss something?"

"Miss something! MISS something? Did he miss something?" Tony repeated, gesticulating wildly.

"I would have thought it was something that interested you in particular, Steve. After all, isn't it just the same kind of thing that happened to you?"

"No," Steve replied curtly. "Not at all and Dr Erskine would be horrified by it, I'm sure."

Reed's expression made his lack of understanding clear. Tony didn't hesitate to set him straight. "Would you want a child of yours to grow up in a barracks? Never having a childhood? Bred to kill and be a soldier without thought to the child's humanity? Would you want a child of yours to be brainwashed? Because the people involved in the development had no qualms about any of that!"

"Well, obviously that's not -" Reed flustered. "I mean, a child of mine I'd want -"

"So you'd be happy for someone else's child to go through that?" Tony twirled another wrench round in his hand as if considering using it as a weapon to reinforce his point.

Steve stepped closer to Tony and Reed didn't calm any, as the dark glower on Steve's face didn't really offer any comfort. He thought Steve probably intended to prevent Tony from doing him any harm, but he couldn't be absolutely certain that that was his intention.

"No," he said weakly, "I don't really want any child to . . . I was just considering the potential. I mean, Steve, you must understand the potential."

"I understand that the Transgenics have had a poor excuse for a life through no fault of their own and now they've been abandoned to live in a toxic dump without supplies and that no one seems to be in the least bit interested in considering their needs but rather in hunting them down and either killing them or recapturing them and forcing them back into captivity and servitude. It rather smacks of something the Nazis and Hydra might have done back in the War."

"Oh!" Reed said, clearly deflated. "I - ummm - yes, when you put it like that it kind of does, doesn't it? I suppose when you look at it that way, it's not quite the magnificent scientific achievement it seems to be at first glance."

"Yes and the first atomic bomb was a fantastic idea too," Tony said bitterly, "Along with concentration camps, weapons of mass destruction, suicide bombers and the Pulse."

Reed looked chastened.

All three men turned as the door opened and Johnny and Sue walked back in. "We'll give you the blood samples," Sue said bluntly. "How long will it take?"

"Ummm, not sure . . ." Tony mumbled. "Do you have anything from your parents that we might be able to . . .?"

"You don't need anything from our father," she said calmly, the only sign of her real emotions shown in the way she clasped her brother's hand. Johnny was standing protectively, the glare on his face daring anyone to say anything that might upset her.

"Right . . . okay . . . So I guess some of yours then and some of Steve's and we make comparisons . . ." Tony looked nervously between them and Steve when he said, "Would it be okay to get Bruce involved? This is more his line of expertise than mine . . . not really mechanical enough for me . . . I mean I could read up on it, learn what I needed to, I guess."

"I have no objection to Bruce being involved," Steve said quietly, "However, the choice needs to be in the hands of Johnny and Sue and if they need time to consider it, I think that's only fair. It's a lot to take in and have to make a decision on all at once."

Reed stood up and crossed to join the group, edging slightly nervously round Tony and Steve to his wife's side. "Sue, what do you mean you don't need to give anything of your father's?"

Johnny bristled. "I'd have thought that was fairly obvious to anyone."

Sue took a steadying breath then began to speak, "My parents had difficulty conceiving. They had to use alternate methods. I know that Dad was involved in some sort of breakthrough fertility project." Tony and Steve shared a startled look but didn't say a word. "I know that in Johnny's case it took a few times before the treatment worked and that in the end, Dad wasn't the male donor. I know they were involved in the same program when they conceived me and I assume the same would stand that he wasn't my father." Johnny put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"I could figure it out," Reed said. "It would be really quite interesting to follow the links and -"

"Actually, Reed," Sue's voice was barely more than a whisper, "I'd really prefer if it wasn't you. I know you could, but you're my husband and somehow . . ." She looked at her brother for support.

"It would just be better if it was someone else," Johnny agreed. "No offense or anything."

Reed looked a little perturbed but rallied himself and said, "Oh, okay, sure. If that's what you want."

"I'm sorry," Sue said softly, tears welling in her eyes. "I just . . . this is not really something I wanted to talk about . . . Look, can we just give you the samples now and . . . and then you do what's necessary and you let us know. I know that's not very helpful of me but. . ."

"No, no, that's fine," Tony stammered the words out. "Whatever, no pressure or anything. Whatever you want."

Steve stepped closer, taking her hands in his. "Susan, we don't have to do this, not if you don't want to. We can still be friends or if you wanted family, we can be that. We don't need a test for that to happen for either of you," he glanced across to include Johnny in his offer.

"No, do it. Please," she said. "And let us know what you find out." She pulled away from Steve's hands with a softly spoken, 'Sorry' and turned to Tony, "Can you take the blood or will we need to wait?"

"Ummm, it doesn't have to be blood - just a cheek swab would do. . . I've got some in case you said yes," Tony headed over to a secured cupboard on the far side of the workshop, opened the door and then said, "Do you want to help yourself?"

Sue followed him, took out two of the kits and passed one to her brother before breaking open the second and proceeding to follow the instructions to obtain her own sample. She slipped it into the secure packaging and sealed it up, waiting for Johnny to do the same. "Done?" she asked quietly. Tony nodded and she said, "In that case, I'm going now. We'll hear from you when you have something to tell us." She turned and headed straight for the door with her brother hurrying to keep up with her.

Reed looked awkward for a moment, then said, "Sorry, I - I need to go with them. You'll be in touch as soon as you know something though. Anything?"

"We will," Tony agreed and with that Reed rushed from the room in pursuit of the others.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Alec had made his way down to the deserted warehouse alone. Max had wanted to come with him, to find out where he'd hidden the tablet but in the end, he'd just slipped away when she was busy and come alone anyway.

He wasn't completely sure why he'd done it. Max's reasoning was sound, he knew that. If something happened to him, then no one would know where he'd hidden the tablet. He was endangering their only chance at a lifeline.

He sat down staring at the tablet without touching it. Was it a lifeline? Was it hope? Or was it like everything else a lie, a betrayal?

He wished he knew, he wished that there was some way to be sure.

Slowly, he picked up the tablet and activated it. There were a bunch of messages, all of them from Tony. He opened the first and began to read, it was a set of blueprints for a filtration system and an explanation of how it would work. The second message was further information on the filtration system, explaining some upgrades that Tony had already added to the first design he'd sent, along with a list of what he would need to build it on site and a request that Alec let him know what he would be able to locate in Terminal City and what they would have to arrange to bring in.

He felt a small surge of hope. Surely if this was a hoax, Tony wouldn't be willing to put this much effort into the designs. It had to be real, didn't it?

He looked up and saw Ben sitting opposite him and the hope waned again. Nothing good ever happened. He should have accepted that by now. He blinked and Ben was gone again. He looked all around the deserted warehouse; there was no sign of him. He wondered for an instant where Ben went when he wasn't in sight, and then cursed himself for being an idiot. Ben was a hallucination, Ben was where he put him and when he didn't see him, he didn't exist.

When Alec didn't see him, he didn't exist. Except that implied Ben did exist when he could see him. Alec shivered, unable to deny the niggling suspicion that Ben did exist . . . maybe not physically but as a part of Alec, a part that was able to drive his actions, lead him down paths that he shouldn't be on. Ben was deceitful, like Manticore was deceitful, not above trickery and charades. Who was to say that when Alec thought he was making a decision, a decision that was the opposite of what Ben would tell him to do, that he wasn't actually playing right into Ben's hands? Who was to say that Ben wasn't inside him? He was damaged enough for it to be true.

"Alec? Alec, is that you?"

His attention snapped back to the tablet in his lap. There was a flashing box in one corner and when he clicked on it, the screen changed and showed a picture of Tony. "Hey, kid," Tony greeted. "Did you get the blueprints and lists I sent you?"

Alec nodded, then pulled himself together and said quietly, "Yeah . . . yeah I did. I was just looking at them, trying to figure out what I'd seen and whether there was anything that I knew we definitely wouldn't have."

"Alec, are you okay? You don't look so good?" Tony said, expression concerned.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Alec assured.

"Hmmm. Listen, Alec, is there anything else we can get for you? In the short term I mean. Anything we can do? This is going to take time to get right and to build it and I know that you've probably got a load of stuff that you're having to make do with or without, but if there is any way I can help, just put it out here, let me know and I'll do my best."

Alec bit his lip. Could he say it? Could he admit this and if he did what would happen? "There is something . . ."

Tony's voice was soft, gentler than he'd heard it before, "Yeah, tell me, let's see if I can figure something out."

Alec breathed deeply a few times then whispered, "Medications . . . we need some medications for a condition but we - I don't know what I need."

"Okay," Tony's voice was still calm, still accepting. "Tell me about the condition."

"I - it's . . ." Alec shuddered. "I can't. I've got to go! I'll - I'll speak to you l-"

Tony cut him short, "Alec, no! Wait! Don't go!" He calmed again, "Don't go. You can tell me. This is between me and you; no one else needs to know. Whatever it is, you need it, right? Not some other Transgenic, it's you who's got the problem, isn't it? Let me help you."

"I don't know if you can. I don't know if anyone can," Alec admitted reluctantly.

"Well, we'll never find out if you don't tell me."

"What do you know about Transgenics?" Alec asked and the two of them began to talk, earning one another's trust slowly as Tony shared what he knew, and Alec elaborated and made the pieces that Tony had assembled begin to fit together.

They'd talked for almost an hour when Tony said, "Alec, what do you need? What's the problem you're having?"

Finally Alec took the step and started to explain. "I'm having hallucinations," he began.

# # #

Tony paced the floor of the workshop angrily. He felt sick. He felt like blowing something up. He felt like he was about to explode.

He needed a drink.

He needed loud music, really loud music, loud enough to burst eardrums and drown out his thoughts and the words that he'd heard tonight.

How? That's what he wanted to know, how could a project like Manticore have ever got the money to start with and then to continue? How could anyone sit by and fund experiments like that? It wasn't like it had been an accident.

What those people were going through. Had been through. It was disgusting, unforgiveable. He paced the length of the workshop again, hand running through his hair as he tried to figure out what to do for the best.

"Mr. Stark, sir."

"Jarvis, what is it?" Tony stopped abruptly.

"Might I suggest a line of enquiry with regard to the Manticore issue?"

"I thought I'd already told you to pursue all lines of enquiry that you can find. Why are you asking me this?"

"Sir, this is not a line of enquiry that I could follow. It would require someone to pursue it in person and I do not believe it would be appropriate for me to do so via the telephone in this case."

"Explain."

"Susan Storm."

"Susan Storm? What exactly are we talking about here?"

"I believe that Ms Storm might have information about Manticore, although she may not realize its significance."

"What exactly makes you think that?"

"I have extrapolated that her father was a surgeon at Manticore. It was he who brought your father in to the project and he continued to work there after your father had left, sir."

"And you 'extrapolated' this how exactly? I don't remember any mention of a Storm in Howard's papers or not in the Manticore ones anyway."

"I cross-referenced the dates at which your father worked for Manticore and accounts from which he received money with the accounts of Mr Storm Senior's public company at the time. He ran a private consulting medical practise for which the accounts were available. I might go so far as to suggest that the private consulting was a 'front', sir, for other work he was doing and that it is conceivable that as payments were made from the same account as those your father received that they may likely have been working for the same organization and that organization may have been Manticore."

"And so I need to call Sue and talk to her. Fantastic! As if this day could possibly get any worse, now you want me to call and ruin her day just a little bit more than I've already done."

"It may be that you might be able to provide her with a little emotional and moral support, sir, given that your personal situations are not entirely dissimilar."

"Emotional and moral support! You are joking, Jarvis. Firstly I don't do emotions and secondly what exactly are morals again? What parameters allowed you to even remotely consider that I might be able to do that? Seriously!

"Seriously, sir, I do believe if you put your mind to it, you might manage a passable version of portraying someone who cared and understood a little of what she might be going through. It also strikes me that Ms Storm is not inclined to wild demonstrations of female histrionics and that therefore you might be able to cope and it would be a good learning situation for you, sir. Empathy is a good interpersonal skill to learn."

"You should be having this conversation with Steve. He'd be far more suited to any such conversation."

"The good captain may already have the social skill to deal with the situation, sir, however, if I might take the liberty to suggest that perhaps he does not have the scientific understanding that you and Ms Storm might share, for while she is not a genius like yourself, she is far from uninformed on scientific matters."

Tony sighed, "Alright, I'll call her."

# # #

_The voice was already there in the dark waiting for him when he emerged from the water gasping for air. "Well? What have you discovered? I need information." The impatient anger was clear. He was afraid. It was times like this when he knew whatever he said wouldn't be right, would never be enough and that even if he had all the information the voice wanted, it wouldn't be what she wanted to hear._

_"494 has been moving equipment. He's planning on building something, something to clean up Terminal City," his voice rasped in the darkness, echoing hollowly. "He's working with outsiders. They've agreed to do the manufacturing. They will go into Terminal City but they haven't agreed a time or date yet."_

_"Something to clean up? What do you mean? Be precise!"_

_"I'm not sure, it wasn't clear, something that can deal with the toxic waste, ma'am."_

_"Who are the outsiders?"_

_"I don't know, ma'am. He called one of them Tony, but that was all I heard. One man was tall and muscular with blond hair. The other was the man called Tony, he was shorter and dark haired." He could hear the fear of retribution in his own voice, but there was no way to hide it, no way to be more certain of himself. There was no way of knowing what lay beyond his tank in the pitch black of his surroundings. "They carried nothing that indicated the name of the company they worked for, but the help they offered was free - they were not seeking money from the Transgenics."_

_"Now why would someone do that, I wonder? Who would do that? Most people want to see those wretches burned alive. If they weren't so afraid of the way contaminants would escape that hell-hole, they'd have torched the whole place already. Just like they deserve."_

_"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, "They do. All Transgenics should know their place."_

_She laughed, the sound more chilling than the cold air raising goosebumps on his skin. "Just like you do, my little seer, just like you do. You know how to obey orders and you know it's more than your life is worth not to obey, don't you?"_

_"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, feeling as her fingers closed around his bicep, nails pressing like pincers into his skin until he tried to wince and pull away, biting his lip in an attempt not to let out a sound._

_"So brave. You'll do anything I ask, won't you?" The pinch stopped and she gently stroked his arm. "Anything I ask . . ."_

_His breathing steadied and he waited to hear what she expected next._

_"I want to know more about the strangers and I want to know how they get in and out of Terminal City and what it is they're intending to build."_

# # #

Alec looked wrecked when he arrived home and when he carefully sat down on the sofa beside Max and seemed to lean just a fraction her way, she took it to be an almost unconscious cry for contact, a need within him for touch and care and so she shifted her position, so that she was propped against him, her head resting on his chest as if it were her who sought the comfort.

"I'm tired, Maxie," he murmured into her hair, tilting his head to rest for a moment on the top of hers.

His heart had been racing as he'd sat down, although he wasn't out of breath and didn't seem to have over-exerted himself at all. But as they sat together, she felt it slow, felt as he calmed beneath her and she wondered what it was that he'd been dealing with to raise his heart beat so.

"You're home now," she said, softly. "You can rest."

He sighed, "There's so much I need to do."

"Not tonight, there isn't. Eat and relax is all that's left on your agenda for the day." She felt as his breathing caught as if he were steeling himself ready to battle her, but she just settled herself more deliberately against him, more heavily into his space and it seemed he gave up the fight, breath evening out and a gradual degree of relaxation taking over his limbs.

# # #

Tony picked up the phone and searched through for Susan Storm's number, found it and proceeded to stare at it vacantly until the power saver turned the illumination off on his screen and he was left staring at the blank face of his phone. He started again, getting back to her number and moving one finger up to press call before stopping. Could he do it? He'd already made her face things she didn't want to face, forced her family into revealing long-held secrets today and now he was phoning with potentially more bad news.

Tony Stark, world's biggest asshole and ruiner of families. He should just have his own gravestone made with some suitably disgusting reference to all the lives he'd ruined over the years.

"Sir, would it help if I activated the call for you?" Jarvis intoned suddenly.

Tony jumped in surprise, frowned ominously and jabbed his finger at the call button, before saying peremptorily, "No! I am perfectly capable of doing it myself!"

"That's good to know, sir. I shall keep that information on file."

"Sass, Jarvis, is not becoming!" Tony fell silent with the phone held to his ear, worrying at his lip as he waited for Sue to answer.

The ring stopped as the call was answered and there was a moment's pause before a tired female voice said, "Tony, I guess I didn't expect you to have the results so quickly."

"Sue, no, sorry, I don't. I was phoning about something else. Well, umm," Tony fumbled for the words. It took a few deep breaths before he began to talk and explain what he knew about Manticore and its fertility programs that were really genetic engineering projects and also his father's involvement.

Sue listened, occasionally asking a question to clarify what Tony had said and as he finally drifted to a close, she asked what he had hoped he wouldn't have to spell out, hoped she would already know. "Tony, why are you telling me this? What has this got to do with me?"

He froze and it was only when she said his name again, that he pulled himself together and said, "I don't have much of Howard's research from that time, but some of what I've got, suggests that perhaps your father was also involved."

"My father."

There was a brittle silence during which Tony had no idea what to say. When it dragged on even longer, he mustered a quiet, "I'm sorry, Sue, it's just . . . they need help, we have very little to go on and I need to find out anything I can to help them and so I have to ask."

"You want me to go through his papers and see if I can find something, is that it? Or are you suggesting that is how he got Johnny and me?"

"The papers, please. I hadn't really thought about you and Johnny in relation to his work . . . I mean you're not Transgenics, are you? You're just normal people, or you were before the accident so what you can do now has nothing to do with that."

Sue sounded even more beaten down when she replied, "Okay. I will look, but his papers are in storage and it might take me a while to get through them and I don't want Johnny to know about this for the moment. He's had enough to deal with already."

"Sue - Sue, I really am sorry to do this to you. If it's any . . . I dunno, consolation? My father was involved too and it's not the easiest thing I've had to deal with lately. If there's anything I can do . . ." he let the offer hang, unsure what he could possibly do to make anything any better.

"Okay. Right now, no, you've done enough already and maybe later I'll feel better about you telling me this, but just now I need some time. I will get back to you. I know I'm not being fair and this isn't your fault, but please, just . . ."

"I understand. I'm sorry." Tony wasn't surprised when she said nothing more, but instead just hung up and left him alone in the silence of his workshop.

# # #

Steve had ordered in Chinese food taking Jarvis' advice on the different 'favorites' of the various people living in the Avengers Tower and of Pepper who he had invited to join them. He rounded everyone up and into the living room where he left Thor and Clint arguing over what movie they could watch. He'd made one specification before he left the room, something light-hearted and enjoyable; he didn't mind explosions and action movies but he really didn't want anything too serious or in the least bit morbid and he figured it was the last thing Tony would need either.

He hadn't mentioned any of his plans to Tony, but had let Jarvis know so as to make sure that the AI was prepared to back him up. He was amazed at just how sneaky Jarvis managed to be. From what he'd gleaned so far, other computers did not manage such a complex system of going against their owner's wishes while using the parameters set by that owner to justify their actions. It was impressive, probably a testament to Tony's genius, although it clearly backfired when he couldn't win an argument with his own computer.

In truth, even Butterfingers and Dummy seemed to have minds of their own. Steve thought it was quite sweet the way Dummy would trail around the workshop carrying a fire extinguisher in pursuit of Tony and he'd had to stifle a laugh more than once as Tony had been squirted with foam without the least sign of smoke or fire. If Dummy was a person, Steve would have called his attitude at those times petulant, but he wasn't a person and Steve wasn't sure that Dummy was supposed to have any kind of attitude.

He made his way downstairs after leaving instructions that if the delivery came before he was back that Clint should answer the door and that they should make sure to leave some of the food for both Tony and Steve. Not that he was really worried, for all the Avengers could eat plenty, he was absolutely certain that the amount he'd ordered would end up filling the fridge and being re-heated at various times the following day as snacks for whoever thought of it first.

The door to the workshop clicked open and the first thing Steve noticed was the lack of loud music, followed quickly by the lack of any 'working noise'. Not to say that all of Tony's work required large amounts of noise, after all when he was designing that wasn't a noisy task in itself. He looked across the room and found Tony sitting at a workbench, elbows resting on the table top and head down on his arms.

"Jarvis, is Tony asleep?" he whispered.

"No, I'm not asleep," Tony's voice came muffled across the room, "Although it doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Honestly if I thought I could go to sleep and wake up when the nightmare was over, I'd try it."

Steve crossed the room, pulling another stool across to sit beside Tony. He rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Bad day?"

Tony snorted. "Don't know that it's possible for it to get any worse . . . or yeah, maybe you've got something bad to tell me, because so far today you're the only person who hasn't either given me bad news or had to receive it from me."

"I'm sorry, Tony. I know this is really hard for you to deal with." Tony's head tilted to the side, his eyes settling on Steve as if waiting to hear what he would say next. "If there's anything I can do to help, even if it's only to listen, I'm here."

Tony pushed himself up a little, lifting his arms so just his elbows were on the table and his head rested on his hands. "You're a good man, Cap. I wish I could have said the same about my father."

"I think he was a man who made mistakes, some of them huge, but I don't know that he was a bad man, Tony. I think he was a terrible father in the ways that really count- the being there and celebrating your successes and supporting you generally. I think he made some terrible decisions when it comes to things like Manticore but . . ."

Tony shook his head. "Tell me, Steve, how a man can go from working on a project like yours to working on the development of a nuclear arsenal. How could he live through the end of the war, knowing what he did about what happened in Japan when they used those weapons and then continue to develop weapons?"

"Maybe having seen the release of those weapons he knew there was no way to stop their use and so he had to develop something bigger and better?"

"Maybe," Tony's voice was bitter, "his time would have been better spent building a defense against those weapons!" He sighed, everything about his posture defeated. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get into an argument with you."

"I don't want to argue either. Whatever actions, intentional or not, Howard made, they don't define you and I and what we do now. So tell me about your bad day. You know what they say about a problem shared."

"More people burdened?" Tony rubbed at his forehead and huffed out an angry breath. "I spoke with Alec . . . he's explained something to me . . . what kind of bravery or maybe it's stupidity, does it take to try and trust someone like me?"

"In their case, it probably takes a lot of bravery to trust anyone at all, but we need to be thankful that he has recognized a good man when he's seen one and he's willing to take the risk." Steve looked at him firmly, "You are the one who needs to learn to recognize that you are a good man."

Tony shrugged, "You're biased, and maybe you've still not been around long enough to really learn what kind of man I am."

"I disagree. I know exactly the sort of man you are. Now what did Alec say?"

Tony gave him a disapproving look, before saying, "Diversionary tactics, Cap? Fine, I'll play along. I've got Jarvis looking into it, but Alec told me he had a cloned brother. He's X5-494, the brother was X5-493. Anyway, the brother escaped Manticore when he was a child, lived a life on the run before having some kind of psychotic break and turning into a serial killer." Tony noted the horrified look on Steve's face and added, "In his defense . . . no actually, I don't really have a defense for what Alec said about him, so we'll move right along. He died, was killed by another Transgenic who wanted to both stop him killing and not allow him to be put back in Manticore's clutches. So nasty killer clone of good guy is dead. Except Alec is having hallucinations of him. Alec is afraid he's going to go the same way, that this is some kind of precursor to what happened to his brother and he doesn't want to hurt anyone. Apparently the hallucinations vary but sometimes he sees his brother miming throat cutting behind someone. He's asked me to look into drugs that might help."

"Can you?"

"Yes. I'll talk with Bruce later. He's still trying to analyze the DNA samples from everyone."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Counseling. Are you trying out a new line of work in case the Captain America gig doesn't pan out?"

Steve gave him a wry grin, "Is it working? Am I any good?"

Tony laughed briefly, "Oh, I feel better already. By the time I've told you the rest, I'll be skipping round the Tower a completely new man!" Steve joined him in the laughter, waiting for him to share the rest. "So, Jarvis thinks Sue Storm's father, or not father-father, was involved with Manticore and I got the good job of telling her."

Steve sympathized with him, reassured him that he'd done the right thing, no matter how things panned out. Tony seemed lighter by the time they'd finished talking and it seemed that he too was learning to trust. It didn't take Steve too long to convince him that a break from his work was in order, a chance to relax with the rest of the team and so the two of them headed up to join them all.

Steve made a point to make up a plate of food and take it to Bruce where he was still working on the DNA samples as they'd spoken earlier and Bruce had said that for everyone's peace of mind, he wanted to keep working until he had some answers and that he could rest then. Steve hadn't tried to stop him, knowing that Johnny and Sue most definitely needed the answers and that he wouldn't deny his own desire to know the truth either.

# # #

Obsidian yawned. Part of him thought that if he had any sense he would be curled up in bed warm and sleeping. He wouldn't be alone either. Part of him couldn't help but smile at the thought of the companionship, the solid friendship that was developing. He looked at his surroundings and wondered if all he was doing was risking ruining the few good things that he had managed to find in his life.

He felt guilty. There was a lot to make up for. He had no right to consider not being here. He owed it to the world to at least try to make amends for all the bad things he'd done in his life. He wondered how many he couldn't even remember, how many times Manticore had reindoctrinated him to make him forget things that they didn't want him to know.

Tonight's target was another gang selling drugs. He wondered for a moment if taking the drugs or even some of them would serve a purpose. Would they be usable for anything else? The last thing Terminal City needed was a bunch of Transgenics who were high on drugs, which was probably just asking for trouble. Then again, there were conditions, he thought, that could be treated with drugs. People with more unusual complaints.

He heard a noise in the street below, wondered if he could get them to fall for the same trick as the last bunch. He stayed poised for a while longer observing and discovered that this gang was even worse in terms of organization than the last. He grinned wickedly. This was going to be fun. Shifting position, he slipped back on to the roof and across to the rope he'd let down for his descent.

This was just a warm-up. If this went to plan he could tackle one of the other items on his list tonight. Really up the stakes for Obsidian. Keep everyone on their toes, himself included. He needed something to make himself feel better, feel like he was achieving something and this would be it.

# # #

Ordinaries, thought Obsidian, really were weak and vulnerable. He'd managed two jobs so far and had decided to head back to Terminal City before anyone there missed him and began to question where he'd been. Seattle was now going to wake up and find itself down one group of drug dealers and a gang of Steelheads who'd been out to rob an electronics store. He dreaded to think what they wanted to take; an image of one of them actually plugging himself in to some electronic device crossed his mind, making him shudder.

He really was tired now, muscles aching from the exertion of fighting, but he hoped that perhaps tonight he'd be able to climb into bed and fall into a dreamless sleep. He was looking forward to it, the comfort of a soft mattress and a warm body beside him. It was a dream all on its own.

He heard a shout followed by a scream in the distance. He closed his eyes for a second, blocking out all that he could see and trying to push all of his other senses out to detect where and what was happening. The scream was a woman, the shout a man, they were struggling, but he didn't know exactly why. Abandoning his attempt to find out more, he ran in their direction. It didn't take a lot of effort to guess what was happening, the man must have attacked her. He blurred quickly down the street, rounding the corner and coming on the tussling couple almost immediately.

Obsidian leaped into the fray, pulling the man away and punching him, forcing him towards the ground away from the young woman. He pushed the man further away, grappling with him. "No, please, no. Just take it, just take it!" the man was saying.

Obsidian barely had time to register the words when he felt a sudden pressure against his side. Moments later, his eyes widen in shock, he gasped and staggered forward into the man he'd been trying to overcome. A burning pain exploded from the pressure and as he glanced down, he saw a knife embedded in his side.

The woman was screaming at him. He pushed the man away, letting go and staggering a couple of steps before regaining his balance and turning to face the woman. He tried to push the pain away, dull it so he could subdue the woman before she had the chance to do him any more harm. Looking at her properly for the first time, he saw her drug-addled eyes, her crazed expression.

He grabbed for her arms, tried to get some sort of leverage to twist her round, overcome her in some way. Fists flew at him and he found himself almost flapping her hands away in an attempt to stop the blows connecting. He pushed her away and she stumbled backwards, sitting down in a puddle and letting out an ear piercing screech of anger.

The man was back on his feet and realizing that Obsidian was now trying to subdue his attacker, he launched himself into the fray to help. With two of them catching at the flailing limbs, it was easier although still not straightforward and eventually with the woman on the ground, face down with her hands behind her back, Obsidian was able to pull out the last of his zip-ties and secure her wrists and ankles.

As he stood back up and let the other man turn her over, he staggered slightly. He looked down at the knife in his side and pondered whether he should pull it out or not. He didn't think it had hit anything important, but then his judgment was a little off. He tried to think about what the right thing to do in this situation was . . . he should know, they'd all been drilled in field med, while the goal may always have been to complete the mission, they were also well aware that damage to other assets like their team mates was not to be ignored lightly.

He tried to twist enough to look at the injury, could see the blood spreading out around it. He took a steadying breath and tried to figure out what to do. He needed to get away from here that was certain. He didn't have an exit planned, no vanishing upward out of sight. In fact he needed to retrace his steps to find the backpack he'd dropped as he blurred.

He leaned against the wall for a moment or two as he tried to steady his breathing. He jerked in surprise when the man laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to call for the police and an ambulance for you, maybe you should sit down."

Obsidian shook his head and said, "No, I have to go. I'm sorry I thought it was you . . ." When the man waved away the apology and tried again to keep him still, Obsidian pulled away stubbornly and, with another apology, started to jog back the way he'd come.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Max was in a foul mood and everybody was doing their utmost to avoid having to speak to her at all. It spoke volumes when even the hard-lined superior X5s would rather speak to Mole than her. Mole had spent the majority of the day too busy to actually broach the subject that had Max riled and so, when he finally flopped down onto the couch upstairs in the command center just before the end of their 'shift', he could contain himself no longer.

"What did you do to piss him off so much that he left?"

Max's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he pressed on anyway, "It's not like Wonder Boy not to turn up and check on you at some point. There are times when I think he's fallen in love and he reminds me of a puppy. Most of the time he's just your average oblivious Joe who wouldn't know a good thing if it beat him about the head with a brick."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

"I don't think he 'gets' what he wants you to be to him. Or maybe . . ." he seemed to think a little longer, "Maybe he thinks you're too good for him, which you're not of course. He's screwed up and the more I watch, the more I think you are too. All those years out of Manticore and I don't know that you're that much better at life and living than he is. Huh! And they said X5s were intelligent . . ." He scrunched up his face, then added, "Intelligent possibly, emotionally literate definitely not. I wonder if it's hardwired in for that to be an impossibility."

Max growled and Mole just laughed at her, then added, "You know if you don't want him to be gone so long, don't send him on those kind of jobs, send someone else."

"I haven't sent him on a job," she said coldly. "As far as I'm concerned he should be in here, pulling his weight."

Mole frowned and she slammed the pen she'd been using down, pushing back her chair and standing up. She paced to the top of the stairs and back, suddenly halting in front of Mole. "Where the hell is he, Mole?" she said desperately. "I didn't mean what I said." There was a hint of defensiveness in her tone. "I don't know where he is and he's so tired and he doesn't sleep."

"What time did he go out? Where did he say he was going?"

"He didn't say where he was going and I don't know what time he went out, but he wasn't there when I got up this morning and Joshua hadn't seen him either." It was the truth without giving away that he should have been in bed alongside Max or that she should have noticed him leaving, let alone the fact that he didn't come back.

Mole pushed himself upright. "He's been missing all day then and you've been here all that time. Where's Joshua?"

Max explained that Joshua had spent the day between the apartment and working down in the new crèche for the Terminal City babies and mothers, where he'd been painting murals on to the walls trying to emulate some of the characters from the toys and books that the raiding teams had brought back for them. Mole seemed to think for a minute or two, then said, "We need Adam and his team. We can organize a proper grid search of the whole of Terminal City with them checking in regularly to keep us informed."

When Max pointed out they were supposed to be on a raid that evening, she just got a hiss in reply and turned to watch as Mole reanalyzed the possibilities. He looked up at her and said, "The raid will have to wait. Finding him is more important."

"And what do we do about supplies? What do we do when people realize that Alec is the reason we didn't bring in fresh supplies? When they start to think of him as flaky?"

Mole knew what she was saying, but supplies were okay, one more night wouldn't make that much difference and if need be they could go to the storage that Alec had outside Terminal City to bring in extras. The issue of people finding out that Alec had gone missing was more difficult. There was the problem of some people thinking him flaky, more likely was the worry that he had run, taken his chance, got out of Terminal City and put his own safety first. Mole didn't think there was even a remote chance of that, but it was in the X5 breeding, it was what a lot of them would have considered more than once.

He thought it more likely that Alec had gone down to try and get more things ready for the clean up project. He'd probably been too ambitious and moved something which had then fallen and trapped him underneath, unable to call for help or with no one close enough to hear his calls. That was even more worrying because he'd been gone all day. Mole dreaded to think what kind of injuries he might have received. They needed to mobilize quickly.

He sent Max to find Adam and his team and he pulled out the maps of Terminal City and tried to come to a decision based on where he knew he and Alec had been working previously. He figured out a plan, moving out from one edge of the area surrounding the warehouse that he and Alec had been gathering all the materials in and then waited for the others to arrive to actually begin the search.

# # #

With the team back earlier than expected and still no sign of Alec beyond Mole's discovery, there was nothing more they could do. If Alec was in Terminal City, he wasn't in the deserted reaches they expected. They didn't want to draw attention to his unexpected absence by doing what would amount to a door-to-door search through the now inhabited areas and so it was with some reluctance that they called it a night for the search and, after a quick discussion, agreed that there was still enough time for Adam to lead his team out on the planned supply run. A quick analysis of what they had planned and they decided to scale back the run to two outlets hit by three of them, rather than the original three hit by them working in pairs. They headed back to the Command Center to gather their equipment.

Mole was frustrated, there had to be something they'd missed, some clue to where Alec had gone that actually made sense. He pushed aside thoughts of X5s pushed over the edge by Manticore's treatment, left as incoherent bodies incapable of looking after themselves in the cellars with the Transhumans until they were needed for salvageable parts. That hadn't happened to Alec, he tried to convince himself of that.

He plodded wearily up the steps to return the maps and grids he'd carried with him when they had gone down to the area to search, feeling as snappish and irritable as Max had been all day. Part of him wanted to blame it all on Max, the least she could have done was actually say that he was missing. They could have been looking a couple of hours earlier, with the trail fresher.

"Oh, you're back," Luke greeted. "Did Joshua catch up with you?"

"Nope," said Mole. "What did dog-boy want?"

"He was looking for you all. When I told him you were out looking for Alec, he said he'd come and help. He said he had the nose for the job," Luke said with his usual cheer.

Sometimes Mole wished that he could have more of Luke's outlook on life; the guy was an eternal optimist. Mole just found optimism exhausting. He figured you were far less likely to be disappointed with your lot in life if you expected the worst. So far that outlook had served him pretty accurately on most fronts. He stopped short, mentally reviewing Luke's words before saying, "The nose for the job?" He could kick himself, why hadn't any of them thought about the fact that the one sense Joshua had far in excess of everyone else's was smell. He was their very own bloodhound and not one of them had contemplated asking him to join them.

"Which way did he go?" Mole asked.

"I don't know I told him you had started your search down in the disused areas. I assumed he headed that way."

In a way Mole was relieved that unlike the rest of them, Joshua was a free spirit, less versed in military protocol than even the likes of Max. As Sandeman's first, they'd never attempted to train him in the way they had with all of those that came after. Joshua would have used his innate sense of smell and gone off in pursuit, probably without even considering whether he was going in the same direction as the others had gone to look. In truth, it was more likely that Joshua had gone in the right direction. It was the first positive thought he'd had in hours.

He made sure that Adam and his team were prepared and ready to leave, told Luke to let him know of any developments of any kind and then headed off to Alec and Joshua's to make sure that Max knew what had happened. He figured if Joshua had gone down to the area they had searched, it wouldn't take him long to realize they were no longer there and to either come home or to follow another lead.

# # #

The one good thing to come out of the hunt for Alec was that she had located his hiding place for the tablet communicator from Tony. She hadn't said anything to anyone else when she'd seen it and she hadn't moved it, Alec's warnings of the information it might be collecting still ringing in her ears despite his absence.

It was good as well to know that she did have a core group of people that she could trust to care for more than just themselves, people who really did seem to want the best for Alec at least and she hoped that went further. Mole seemed to surprise her regularly, for all his harsh words and cynical tone, she'd begun to suspect that deep down he cared for the future of the Transgenics, for the success of Terminal City and that he'd do pretty much anything to protect it.

None of that answered the question of where Alec was and why he wasn't answering his phone or turning up. She was afraid for him, most of the anger having dispersed as they hunted through the abandoned buildings and she realized just how much work he and Mole had done towards salvaging things for Tony to use.

She refused to believe that after all of that or even in the midst of all of that he would run out on them, abandon them to their fate. He must have been working on something and something had gone wrong to stop him getting back to them. If only she knew what and where.

She let herself into the apartment, surprised that there were no lights on and no sign of Joshua anywhere. She tried to think back over their conversation of that morning when they both had assumed that Alec had just got up early and gone to Command Center. She couldn't remember him saying anything about staying out late. He'd just about finished the project he'd been working on to create the crèche and so, by now, he should have been home.

She flopped down into a chair and turned the TV on. A local news report was just starting and as she listened a chill thought occurred. Obsidian the local vigilante had stopped a gang of Steelheads breaking into an electronic store and had then attacked a local woman, confining her with zip ties and a gag. He was then arrested at the scene before he could do her any further harm.

Max understood perfectly what they were trying to imply he'd been doing or about to do. Somehow she didn't believe it of him. For all she didn't know him, over the weeks she'd been watching reports with Alec she felt like she did know that he meant well.

Like Alec had said, maybe the police just didn't want to look bad against his ability to capture criminals and take strides to clean up the crime in the city. She supposed the evidence would show when crime went back to what it was before he'd started his hunts.

She sat and waited anxiously for her two room-mates, mind not focused on the TV screen before her, until a sharp rap at the door had her running downstairs to find out who was calling so late at night.

"Mole? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you'd heard from Joshua."

She shook her head, suddenly worried that she'd managed to lose not one, but two roommates in one day. What on earth was happening?

"I spoke to Luke. He said Joshua had stopped in to speak to you and found out that Alec was still missing. He'd said he was going to help search. Luke assumed that he was going to join us, but he'd said something about having a good nose, so if he's not here, I'd assume that he's gone off in pursuit of Alec's scent, because he sure wasn't down near us."

Relief at the thought that Joshua might be able to find Alec was quickly replaced by concern. Supposing Alec wasn't even in Terminal City. She hoped that Joshua wouldn't be fool enough to go outside to look for him. She felt torn, as much as she wanted Alec back, allowing Joshua to go out into the city was courting trouble, trouble she knew Alec wouldn't want him to go through. She ran a hand through her hair, invited Mole upstairs thinking that any company was better than none on a night like this, when she needed to wait and all she expected to receive was bad news.

# # #

Joshua hadn't gone in the direction Luke had said. He'd headed home instead. The last place anyone knew for a fact that Alec had been was home in bed with Max. Well possibly not the 'in bed with Max' bit, he wasn't certain he really understood but Max and Alec had both been very definite about not wanting anyone else to know about that. Anyway, more importantly that was the last place that Joshua knew for sure that Alec had been, the place where his scent was clear and as recent as he could find and so he was going to go there and start the trail. It might lead him all over Terminal City but that didn't really matter. The only thing that mattered was finding Alec and making sure that he was all right.

He wished he'd thought to check first thing in the morning, but when Max had said he wasn't there, he'd just jumped to the conclusion that he was most likely to be at the Command Center and if he wasn't there, then the disused factories and warehouses would have been his second guess.

Leaving their apartment, his nose took him off in a completely different direction. When he'd arrived at the secret guarded exit into the tunnels below them, he'd baulked for an instant, wondering how he could talk his way past the guards without them refusing to allow him to pass. It didn't make sense, how would Alec have come this way? How could he have come out past the guards without being stopped? Movements were supposed to be recorded, passes doled out before people were allowed to move freely. Alec had had no pass, of that Joshua was certain. If Alec had a pass, Luke would have known about it, Max would have known. Everybody would know where to start looking.

Joshua crept forward, eyeing the guards and saw one he knew well, a Transhuman named Eli . . . a 'friend'. Maybe convincing them to let him past wasn't going to be as hard as he thought. Slipping out from his cover, he strolled across the street and started to make friendly, hoping it didn't take him too long to convince them because he didn't want the shift to change before he'd got past.

# # #

_He had tried to watch X5-494 from outside, but there was little to see. 494 was curled tight into a wall in what had to be either a cave or a tunnel that was so dark he could barely make anything out. Like this he didn't even have the benefit of any X5 heightened visual sense. Frustrated he forced his way back into 494's mind. It was a morass of confusion. Something was wrong with 494, he was burning up and even through their link it could be felt. 494's thoughts didn't make sense, they were jumbled, thoughts of Max and scrap metal tumbled over and over with supply run plans and Joshua's art work and escape and missions that had to be remnants from his time in Manticore, street plans of Seattle and quickest route by bike mixed with recipes, pain in his side and a church. A church with the Lady. The Blue Lady._

_He couldn't look at the Blue Lady. He pulled out, back into his own body, gasping and thrashing in the water in fear. The Blue Lady. The Blue Lady! Had she seen him there in 494's head? Did she know? Did she watch over 494 and take care of him?_

_He barely noticed as he was pushed clear of the water. He sobbed in fear. Everything flooding back to him, all the things he'd done for the Blue Lady and how she'd abandoned him. Left him in a world where nothing made sense and still he'd tried to please her. It had all ended when he'd fought Max in the woods with Manticore closing in fast._

_It all came back to him and he sobbed in despair. Max had tried to save him and she had failed._

# # #

Joshua was in the tunnel and relying on his nose to lead the way. It was harder to pick Alec's scent among all the other more noxious smells that came from the links to the sewer system and from the other chemicals that had been washed into the tunnel and left to decay down there. It didn't stop him, determination only rising higher with his concern at how long Alec had possibly been missing, how much his scent was fading.

The tunnel with others, left and right and down at irregular intervals, a labyrinthine maze in which it would be easy to get lost. Joshua was reminded of the story of Theseus that he had heard as a child. His life had been so different when Sandeman had still been at Manticore. He had been treasured, in a way loved. It had changed when Sandeman left and those that came after had been cruel and the majority of Transgenics that came after Joshua knew nothing at all of childhood, nothing of love.

Yet he would not lose hope for them. They were here now and building a new future. People were learning to care for each other, to not fight only for themselves and their own survival. Some were beginning to love. Max and Alec, he thought, were beginning that journey. It was all the more reason to bring Alec home in one piece now.

He stopped at a four way junction, confused. Alec's trail was muddled, heading in all three directions from where he stood now. It was strongest to the left, yet perhaps more recent to the right. It was hard to tell. He stood poised, ears keenly listening for the least sound. There was nothing.

He took a decision and went left where the scent was strong. He moved quickly while there was no choice of a change in direction, only slowing at junctions to see which way Alec had gone.

Soon it became clear, Alec was here in the tunnels. But he was lost and confused, missing all the markers that had been hidden to show the Transgenics the ways through the maze. He was hurt, Joshua had caught the hint of blood in his scent and so in his confusion, he had turned and turned again through the tunnels, layering scent on scent, wearing himself down. Joshua had found places where he had stopped, presumably to try and gather his strength, places where blood had dripped to the floor, not a lot, but enough that over the hours Joshua was growing more and more concerned for Alec's safety.

When he finally turned a corner and the smell of blood was stronger than it had been before, Joshua knew without a doubt that he was close. He moved quickly forward, yet even so he was caught by surprise when he tripped over something in the center of the tunnel floor. Reaching down he picked up a back pack - Alec's for sure, his scent strong on it. Joshua slung it over his shoulder as he moved forward again. It wasn't much further before the smell of blood overpowered everything as Joshua knelt down at Alec's fallen form.

Reaching forward, he laid a hand soft along Alec's cheek, feeling the strange mix of clammy sweat on cold skin. He tried to find Alec's pulse as Mole had shown him. It was weak and thready and no matter how he tried he couldn't rouse his friend.

There was only one choice. He had to carry Alec out of here, get him back to the others and hope that someone would know how to help him properly. He couldn't leave Alec here and run for the others, it would take too long. Dropping Alec's backpack, he bent down and carefully shifted Alec's unconscious form into his arms and lifted him. Alec was tall but nowhere near as tall as Joshua. His frame lithe but surprisingly light. It was nothing to hold him close and hurry back through tunnels, slowing only to make sure that he didn't knock Alec as he went through the narrower and fallen sections and to ensure that at each turn, he headed back towards Terminal City's safety.

# # #

"Captain Rogers, sir."

Steve shifted in his sleep.

"Captain Rogers. Sir, please wake up."

Steve blinked blearily, not sure what had woken him. He started to push himself to sit up, yawning widely. The lights in the room raised a fraction, letting him make out the features of the furniture around him.

"Oh, good, you're awake, Captain," Jarvis said.

"Did you just wake me up, Jarvis?" Steve said, just a hint of tetchiness in his voice. He never seemed to get an easy night's sleep, between the needs of other team members that he couldn't ignore and his own nightmares that would wake him as soon as utter exhaustion had passed. It was rare to get a truly relaxing sleep. The last thing he needed was Jarvis to start waking him up randomly as well. "What did you want, Jarvis?" he yawned.

"Sir, Dr Banner has some results of the DNA testing that he was doing earlier. I thought perhaps you might want to hear the results first hand."

"Oh, yeah! Sure, just give me a minute to pull some proper clothes on," Steve said, already pulling sweat pants from his drawer and shedding the clothes he'd been sleeping in.

"Sir, before you leave . . ." Jarvis paused and Steve would have sworn it was an awkward, uncomfortable pause. If Jarvis had been human, Steve would have said that he was uncertain, maybe even embarrassed, but before he could say anything the AI continued, "I believe that Dr Banner might be about to share some information that Mr Stark had not envisaged as a possibility. It may be a revelation that he finds difficult to accept and may need support. He may alternatively decide that it is not information to be shared with anyone. Might I ask that you consider what is best for Mr Stark before acting according to any protocols of your own that might immediately spring to mind, sir?"

Steve frowned, trying to imagine what information he might be about to hear. "You want me to look out for Tony? I can do that. If you're asking me to tell lies, then I probably won't do that, it won't stop me trying to do the best for Tony whatever we find out."

He pulled the door open and jogged lightly down the corridor towards Bruce's lab.

# # #

Steve arrived at Bruce's lab first, but he could already hear Tony running down the corridor behind him. "Hey," he greeted Bruce, "So you have some news for us? Is it good?"

Bruce looked a little perturbed, then as Tony came in, he said, "I guess it depends on whether you want more family or not. . ."

"Hey Cap," Tony beamed, "Amazing how good our Bruce is, right? But you don't need to worry, Cap, if you have to pay paternity costs, I'll help you out with a loan." His grin turned cheeky and Steve just shook his head, sharing a wry smile of his own.

"Yeah, well." Bruce shifted awkwardly. "You guys want to sit down? Both of you?"

Steve moved to sit in a chair, but Tony hesitated as if for the first time getting the sense that something might be amiss. "Sit down?"

Bruce's voice was calm, "Yeah. It's what you do with chairs and stools and stuff. I thought you'd have known that. I prefer it when people don't loom when I work."

Tony grinned cheekily, "I loom... I like it, gives me a sense of prestige and presence."

"Sit down, Tony, we've never had any doubts about your presence. Sit down, so that poor Bruce can tell us the news and then get to sleep, because we're going to have to go through this again tomorrow to let Johnny and Sue know what he's found."

Bruce nodded gratefully at Steve's support and at the way Steve tugged Tony to sit on the stool alongside his own. Bruce paced and then flicked at a screen showing a series of bars and numbers that made no sense to Steve at all. "This is Steve's DNA. And laying Johnny's over the top, you can see it matches up enough for Steve to be more than just any old relative. Steve, I'm sorry to say this but you are actually Johnny's father."

"No need to be sorry. He's a good kid. I'd be proud to call him mine, if that was what he wanted. I mean he might not want me as his father."

Tony let out a cut-off squeak as if he'd been about to say something and then thought better of it. Then his eyes widened in shock and he shuddered, "Oh, Shit! You do realize that you have a son who is only like a year maybe two younger than you are in real kind of being alive and awake terms. That's screwed up!"

Steve looked at him, equally horrified at the thought of what Tony had said. He hadn't felt like that. He'd felt a lot older than Johnny when he met him, it didn't make sense. Johnny wouldn't want him to be a father.

Bruce interrupted his thoughts, "Steve, might I suggest that perhaps trying to be a friend or a brother would be better than trying to be his father, given the circumstances?"

Steve gave a reluctant nod, seemingly unnerved by the concept of a son as old as him, a son more worldly and informed than he thought he would ever be.

"So is Sue related too?" Tony asked, breaking the somber mood.

"To Steve . . . no. To Johnny, there is a match on the maternal side."

"So she was Franklin's daughter then?"

"No . . . No, she wasn't." Bruce turned away, took a steadying breath and then turned back again, "Tony, you and she share a father."

"Oh. Poor Susan. What illustrious heritage to suddenly gain. Right, glad we know what's what or should I say who's who. I shall see you all in the morning. Good night." Tony stood up and was out of the door and heading down the corridor before anyone could stop him.

# # #

"No! Blow!" Steve said shortly with a huff of frustration. He stood up and started after Tony, pausing at the door to say, "Thank you, Bruce and sorry to dash but. . ." he looked down the corridor as Tony disappeared around the corner at the far end.

Bruce waved him away, saying, "Listen, I'm here for you both, but tonight I'll let you try and talk to him. I'm too tired to make sense anymore."

"Sorry again and thank you," and with that, Steve ran down the corridor in pursuit of Tony, disappointed as he rounded the corner to find the next corridor empty.

"Mr Stark took the stairs, sir. He did not wish to wait for the elevator to arrive in case you caught up with him. I have ensured the elevator is there if you wish to take it and I can expedite your journey to his floor or you may prefer to pursue him up the staircase."

"Can you get me there in time to meet him? So he doesn't get himself locked in his room before I can catch up with him and you're sure he's going up and not down to his workshop . . ."

"At the current time, Mr Stark is heading upstairs and yes, I can get you to the floor ahead of him."

"Then we'll do that." Steve said, running into the open door of the elevator and grasping the bar as the elevator shot upwards at considerably more speed than Steve was used to it moving at.

The door opened and Steve stepped out. Jarvis spoke much softer this time, "Mr Stark will come through the door to your left very shortly."

Steve got the impression that Jarvis hadn't wanted to be overheard and so he moved closer to the door and waited.

Tony looked absolutely stunned when he opened the door of the stairs and found Steve directly in front of him. Before he could say a word, Steve said, "I figure that was a bit of a shock to both of us! I would never have guessed that."

Tony's breathing was unsteady and Steve was pretty confident that it wasn't just because of his flight up the stairs.

Tony drew himself up, then bitterly said, "So when I called you Gramps, I wasn't that far off the mark."

"Tony," Steve said sadly, seeing the twist of pain in his friend's face. He reached out and laid a hand on Tony's arm. "This is not what any of us expected. What Howard did. . ."

Tony glowered, "What Howard did was disgusting!" He tried to push past Steve, then seemed to think better of it, "I don't mean Sue . . . I mean that's fine . . . a surprise but fine. I can understand it, you know helping out a friend and I'm going to assume that it was done with the proper procedures not by him having an affair. I'm not even going to begin to go there and consider that as a possibility. What really pisses me off? Is you! What he did to you. He's the only way anyone could have got your DNA, so he knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to recreate you, without your permission, without Erskine's morality."

Steve barely caught hold of him in time to stop him slamming his fist angrily into the wall beside him. "Tony, I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Cap. He did," Tony's voice was weaker and he was still turned away leaning against the wall. Steve didn't move, kept his hand on Tony's upper arm in support but didn't move closer, just waited. Slowly Tony pushed himself up and shook off Steve's hand. He started to walk away.

"Tony."

"Not now, Steve. I need a drink." Steve dodged round him to block his way. Tony growled and tried to push past.

"Tony, I'm sorry but it's not going to help. None of this is going to look any better from the other end of a bottle."

"Well, unlike you, I can put that theory to the test!" Tony snapped angrily.

"What's the point of re-testing an old theory? You already know it doesn't work," Steve said calmly, not rising to the anger in Tony's voice. "I need you in the morning to help me talk to Sue and Johnny and we'll have to tell them about Max. They deserve you sober, no matter how much it hurts you."

"I suppose this is me splitting the family estate three ways then," Tony said flippantly. "I should get on to those figures tonight."

"No, it isn't," Steve said gently. "Firstly, Sue had a father, a family. You owe her nothing, you can offer her an extra brother if you wish, but she was Franklin Storm's daughter in all the ways that count. Your family doesn't owe her anything. With Max, maybe it is more complicated, but even then, we are offering them support."

"I can't leave a sister of mine in there," Tony said, brokenly.

"Then you need to sleep and tomorrow we start to work on solutions." Steve's hand rested on his back, guiding him back towards his bedroom.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Max had been horrified when she saw Joshua carrying Alec down the street. Leaving Alec's usual perch on the windowsill, she raced down the stairs to open the door. Alec looked awful. Joshua had told her to hold the doors open and had carefully carried Alec upstairs before he let her get close enough to start looking over Alec properly.

The two of them had worked carefully, removing his clothes, cataloguing his injuries, then Joshua had run through the rain-soaked streets to find someone to help them. Gem had been the first X5 he had found who he trusted enough to ask back to help and the two of them hurried to the apartment, having stopped in at the Command Center for extra medical supplies. Joshua thought they were lucky that Mole had gone back there to wait on Adam and his team's return and so they were able to take what they needed without fuss or having to answer unwanted questions. Mole had said he would stop by himself to check on Alec as soon as the raiding teams had returned.

Even once they'd cleaned him up and used all of their field med skills, Alec still hadn't regained consciousness. "Blood loss isn't helping," Gem said quietly.

"He needs a transfusion," Max said. Gem nodded. "I'm willing. Will you do it?"

Gem reached for the supplies and set everything up ready to draw Max's blood. "Ready?" Max nodded and Gem began the process. It didn't take long to withdraw the blood and as soon as she had, Gem took the blood across to Alec to begin the transfusion.

With everything done, the two women sat down with Joshua to wait anxiously and see what happened, whether what they had done would be enough.

# # #

Steve had called Johnny's phone and left a message first thing in the morning and then headed into the gym. Tony had emerged an hour later found a note from Steve to tell him he'd asked Johnny and Sue to come round for the results when it was convenient and was now standing bleary eyed in the doorway sipping on a large mug of coffee watching as Steve pounded into a punch bag like his life depended on it.

Tony wondered if maybe Steve wasn't as alright with what happened as he'd claimed to be. If maybe he didn't feel as betrayed by Howard's actions as Tony himself did. Maybe he was even disappointed, whereas Tony knew his own potential to be disappointed in his father had long since passed.

He tried to imagine waking up sixty or seventy years in the future, with all the technological and cultural changes that could have taken place and sliding in to a new life there. It was hard to picture. An age where invention had surpassed imagination. That was what Steve faced daily and now he was faced with the prospect of a son who was to all intents and purposes the same age as him and the possibility of others. Just as Tony was faced with the possibility of other siblings.

Except for the most part they weren't siblings, they were soldiers, creations. . . Tony didn't know what they were anymore. He wanted them to be people.

He wanted a lot of things in life. He wanted answers to questions and solutions to problems.

He wanted world peace and green energy and an end to poverty.

He wanted to be left in peace in his workshop with his inventions.

Too bad he never got what he really wanted.

"Cap," he said. "Jarvis said Johnny and Sue will be here in thirty. You good for that?"

Steve lifted a hand in acknowledgement before letting loose with a flurry of blows that had Tony wincing in sympathy. This wasn't easy on any of them. The sins of the fathers . . . He sighed and turned to head back to the kitchen for more coffee.

# # #

It had been going surprisingly well, Steve thought. No one had over reacted, been uncouth or volatile. Johnny had shown a marginal interest in getting to know Steve better but had made it clear he was never going to think of Steve as his father, but friendship along the lines of cousins would be good. Steve figured it was more than he had any right to hope for.

Sue seemed to be disappointed that she and Johnny didn't share a father, whoever he might have been, but was unexpectedly unsurprised by the revelation that Howard was her father. Her problem seemed to be in the distance it implied between her and Johnny, but the reassurance that they both shared exact copies of the same maternal DNA seemed to mean a lot to her. Finding out that Tony was a brother seemed to embarrass her somewhat and she seemed uncertain what to do with the information, constantly eyeing Tony warily across the room as if half expecting him to leap across the intervening space and hug her. Steve had watched as she carefully put Johnny between the two of them, although she had been polite throughout.

The atmosphere changed though when Sue said, "I looked through my fa-Franklin's papers and found a file that might be what you were asking for." Her eyes fixed unwavering on Tony. "Are you going to explain what exactly this all means?"

"You've heard of Manticore," Tony began.

They were sitting all wrong, Steve suddenly decided. It looked like Johnny and Sue were presenting a united and supportive front for each other against Tony on his own and Steve was outside the circle. He didn't care whether that interpretation was only in his own mind, Tony shouldn't be alone in this. He wasn't to blame. Steve himself was more to blame in that he had at least agreed to take part in Dr Erskine's trials.

His chair scraped back as he stood up, all eyes suddenly flicking to him. He took his chair across to sit closer to Tony, hoping that Tony got the message that he wasn't alone in this. He wasn't sure that Tony had got the right message when he turned an expression somewhere between a frown and a glare in Steve's direction.

"Only in as much as was on the news, something about an ex-military site that exploded but the soldiers had gone rogue."

Johnny nodded to show that he'd heard the same as his sister.

"Well, there was more to Manticore than that," Tony said wearily. "Manticore was military, but they were also . . ." he struggled for a word.

"Experimental," Steve offered.

Tony snorted, "Yeah, experimental. They wanted to recreate Steve. Your father and mine were involved in the development. They wanted super soldiers. They tried creating humans that were stronger, quicker, more intelligent."

The more the explanation went on, the more horrified and disbelieving Sue's face got, although Johnny's showed something else as well. As Tony explained how they had used animal DNA and how they treated the soldiers they created, Johnny suddenly stood up. Tony stopped speaking and looked at him in surprise.

"So is that what I am? Some sort of cross between Steve, my mother and some arbitrary animal?" He was almost shaking with rage.

Before anyone else could answer, a voice cut in from the doorway, "No, it's not what you are. . . You are one hundred percent human; there is nothing in you that isn't from either Steve or your mother."

"So I'm normal?" Johnny re-iterated as Bruce walked further into the room to join Steve and Tony.

"In the sense of being human, yes. I would suggest that they had tweaked some of your assets, manipulated them to ensure that you got only the positive assets of your parentage - no offense, Steve. They toyed with what was there, but they didn't add anything and they made sure that you couldn't develop your mother's asthma and things like that. There are signs of them having tried it with Sue as well, but less extensively - perhaps the difference in your ages accounts for that. With Sue it was more of an experiment, by the time you were conceived, they were more sure of what they were doing, but they hadn't got as far as mastering adding extra skills. Franklin didn't take any risks with either of you in that respect."

He paused and looked accusingly at Tony and Steve, "You didn't tell me you were looking into Manticore. . ."

"We . . ."

Bruce gave a calm smile, "You didn't want to find out that I'd worked there?"

"Not really, no."

"The more we found out . . ."

Bruce shook his head, "Wow! I'm touched by your faith in me. As it happens, they approached me. I got them to show me round and tell me a bit about what they were doing. I was tempted to a point, but then I realized that what they were showing me wasn't half of what they were doing. And that even what they admitted to made me uncomfortable, so I declined the offer and went to work for a different branch of the military and we all know how well that worked out, don't we?"

# # #

There was a bleep from the far side of the room, stopping all conversation as everyone turned to look. Tony looked at Steve and said, "Alec."

Steve nodded. "You should answer it. No one will mind, I'm sure," he said as he looked round at everyone. "It could be important."

"Important?" Johnny snorted. "Of course, there are worlds of stuff more important than what we're discussing here!"

"Please, Johnny. We'll explain after Tony's taken the call." Johnny waved his hand dismissively in Tony's direction, turning to walk away from the group with an angry huff. Sue followed him, her hand going out to touch his arm and he lifted his arm putting it round her and pulling her close. Steve sighed, things were falling apart. He'd thought it was going well and now. . .

Bruce was leaning against the workbench beside him and he could almost feel the tension around him. He glanced across guiltily and saw a blank look on Bruce's face. He didn't know what to say, how to explain that he hadn't believed that Bruce would be involved but that he'd had to ask the question. If he'd been asked before, he wouldn't have believed that Howard could have been involved; he'd always thought better of Howard, yet he was being proved wrong, time and time again.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked across at Bruce. "I'm sorry. I should have known better."

Bruce cocked an eyebrow, "Better than to think that a man who was investigating ways to recreate what Erskine and Stark did with you, wouldn't have been involved with another organization who were doing the same thing?" He grimaced. "Look, Steve, I'll be honest with you. What bothers me is not that you think I might have been involved in that project at some point, but that you wouldn't speak to me about it. I do know people who were involved, people that I had worked with beforehand or afterwards. People who ran, people who lost their lives because of their involvement with Manticore, so even if I couldn't tell you everything you wanted to know, there was a chance I could have told you something. I thought you trusted me. I thought that was what you were trying to get us all to believe in with the whole Avengers 'team', but if you don't trust me, then I'm in the wrong place."

"I trust you. We trust you. I just didn't know what your reaction would be. I didn't want to anger you, by calling your past into question. It . . . I know how Tony feels about his father's involvement, if you had been involved. . ."

"You think Tony wouldn't trust me anymore?"

"No, I thought . . . I didn't want anyone to be judging anyone else by what might have been a circumstantial mistake. You could have been involved without realizing what was going on . . . you could . . ."

"And if I had been, I could have explained and justified my actions. We might have argued, but if we can't operate on a basis of trust and honesty, then I'm in the wrong place."

Tony came back across the room, face grim and shaken. "They need help. Alec's been attacked and stabbed and they've only just found him. He's unconscious and he's been in an area of high contamination. Max asked if there was anything we could do for him?" He was looking between Bruce and Steve as if waiting for a response.

"Who's Alec?" Bruce asked.

"One of the Transgenic leaders."

Sue and Johnny had turned to watch the discussion.

"What did you say?" Steve asked, anxiety clear.

Tony looked awkward. "I said you and I would fly out to get him, bring him out of Terminal City and we would find a doctor to take care of him somewhere. I can bribe someone, or SHIELD must have someone. Fury owes us!"

"I'll go with you. I'll see what I can do for him. It's not like contamination is much of an issue for me."

"Isn't it?" Tony asked. "If you were at risk, wouldn't the Other Guy just come out? They don't need the kind of destruction he can wreak."

The conversation went back and forth for a while as they discussed the implications of taking Bruce with them into Terminal City. "Is he like us?" Johnny suddenly asked.

"He's an X5 series," Tony said. "He told me that among other things they included cat DNA in his genetic make-up, but to look at him and talk to him you wouldn't know that he wasn't human. His partner Max is the same, but she . . . she looks remarkably like Sue, except she's dark-haired like me. I guess in all likelihood, she's got Howard's DNA."

"So what do we do?"

"What do you want to do?"

Johnny looked back at his sister and shrugged as if waiting for her to share her opinion. "I think if you're intending doing something to help the Transgenics, then Johnny and I want to be involved. We'll talk to Reed and Ben."

"Thank you," Steve stepped forward to shake their hands. "We're trying to work out how to help them, what we can do. For now, I guess, we need to focus on getting Alec medical treatment so we'll be going to Seattle as soon as we can. We'll be in touch when we get back."

Sue nodded, "We'll speak to you then. Good luck." Johnny said his own goodbyes and the two of them left, leaving Bruce to convince Tony and Steve that he should accompany them.

# # #

Adam turned his head suddenly, sure he'd caught a movement out of the side of his eye. There was nothing there. He turned his attention back to the guard patrolling the storehouse he was waiting outside.

He gave the signal as soon as the guard had passed them by and watched as his men moved forward. Another unexpected movement stopped him again. He paused, attention no longer on his team mates as they broke cover, but instead he stood in the open, looking round to see what it was that was moving and taking his attention.

"Charlie?" he whispered hoarsely. "Charlie, is that you?"

Almond, who was several paces ahead of him, turned back. "Adam? What is it?"

"Charlie, did you see Charlie?"

"Charlie? No, I didn't see Charlie, Adam. You know darn well I didn't see Charlie. Charlie's dead!"

"No, I saw him. I saw Charlie. He was over there," Adam gestured wildly.

"Shit! Pace! Pace, get back here!" Almond was already bundling Adam back to the undergrowth they'd all been hiding in earlier. They were barely down and undercover before Pace was sliding in alongside them.

"What is it?"

Almond shrugged, then turned his attention back to Adam. "Talk!" he said, sharply.

"I saw Charlie, he was keeping time with us."

"Charlie died. You know he died, when we got out, when White's guys almost caught us all. They killed him."

"But supposing they didn't," Adam said desperately, "Supposing he got free of them."

"He was dead," Almond said firmly. "And I'm calling an end to this - we're out of here."

"But the stuff, we haven't got the stuff!"

"No, Almond's right," Pace said with just as much determination. "You're too much of a liability. We go back now and we figure out what's happening."

Without another word, the two X5s took hold of Adam's arms and began to drag him away, only letting go when Adam seemed to accept the decision.

# # #

Tony's cloaked plane hovered over Terminal City. He, Steve and Bruce let the ropes down from the plane and rappelled down, landing easily in the same spot they'd been in before. Max and another woman stepped forward out of the shadows.

Max greeted Tony and Steve civilly but with a hint of wariness in her tone, her gaze settling on Bruce and waiting. Tony stepped forward. "We came as quickly as we could. This is Dr Bruce Banner. He's . . ."

Bruce moved forward to join him. "I'm Bruce. The Doctor bit refers to me being a physicist but I know a little medicine. I've worked overseas as an actual physician. I don't know everything, but I'm here to offer whatever help I can."

"Thank you." She nodded and looked at Gem, who shrugged, then turned back again. "I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. We've done what we can for him, but the one thing he would tell me is that I should be careful about letting you see round Terminal City. I figure you already know that it isn't all like this," she said, gesturing around her. "But there's a difference between knowing that and seeing that. Alec was torn between trusting you and fearing you. But I know he wanted to trust you. The reason I know that is how much work he put in to starting the project the two of you talked about. Hours of work and more energy than he should have used, but Alec is nothing if not stubborn and determined. That is why I'm going to take you to our apartment and ask you to help him."

"I promise you, whatever I do, it will be to try and help you all. Now as we go, tell me what happened to him."

Max began to lead the way with Bruce on one side and Tony on the other. Steve hung back, his intention to let Gem go first apparent. "Thank you, but no, Captain. After you, I insist," she said calm and collected and as she gestured with one hand, he saw the weapon strapped to her side, with her other hand resting lightly on it. He nodded politely and followed the others down the side alley.

# # #

Max kept glancing round her companions as if she could judge what they were thinking by the expressions on their faces. She watched as Steve seemed to analyze their surroundings. She remembered Alec saying he was the one who had been an actual soldier, so she guessed that he was also the one who would have worked out that they'd have cleared areas to live in, would have been working non-stop since they began to settle using the skills and tools that they did have. He was the one who would have known that if they were real soldiers, between them, they should have the skills to adapt and survive.

They picked their way cautiously through the debris that littered the alley before coming out onto a wider and far clearer thoroughfare. It was deserted, no one in sight. Max wondered if anyone other than Steve had realized that the route she had chosen was deliberate and whether even he realized that there were more guards than just herself and Gem. She almost smiled as she contemplated the likelihood of him having underestimated exactly how formidable she and Gem could be in battle, despite their relatively small stature by comparison to the men around them now and the strapping X5 males they had already seen. It wasn't like that had ever been an excuse for poor performance when they were confined at Manticore, so it was unlikely to hinder them now, but whether anyone else realized that was another matter entirely.

They approached a building that looked in a little better repair than those around it. The door was hung which was a big step up from some of the buildings they had passed. Max stopped outside. "Joshua and Mole are taking care of Alec while we have been away. They are both Transhuman."

"Transhuman? What does that mean?" Bruce asked in confusion.

"More animal DNA," Tony said bluntly, "More animal features, I guess."

Max glared. "They're still one of us!" she said forcefully.

Tony looked a little sheepish as he rapidly tried to apologize and backtrack on what he'd said to make it seem less offensive. Then he just sighed and said, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean that to be negative. It wasn't any indication that we weren't willing to see and talk to them and treat them decently. I appreciate the . . . what do you want me to call it? Warning? I guess it will be a surprise to see someone who looks different to those of you we've met so far."

"Don't some of you look different to the rest?"

"Yes, we do," said Bruce, "and some of us change between entirely human and entirely something else and we don't always have it completely under control."

Max tilted her head as if to question his statement. Bruce explained further, talking about his own situation with the Other Guy and how it had happened, how he now dealt with it, reassuring her that they were all safe and he, Tony and Steve had discussed safeguards to ensure that no one's safety in Terminal City could be threatened by the Other Guy.

Max nodded and led the way to the door, went in and everyone followed her up the stairs.

As they reached the top of the stairs and turned to go into the living area, Mole came out of the bedroom, looming, deliberately ferocious as if to make the point that this was his territory and not theirs and he didn't intend to let his people come to any harm. He held a shotgun in one hand tapping it against his shoulder with a fake nonchalance.

"So who have we got here then?" he growled, not taking his eyes off of the newcomers.

"Mole, stand down," Max said firmly.

"Not gonna introduce us then, Maxie. I mean if you want us to make nice, shouldn't we at least know one another's names?"

She sighed, "Yes, I'll introduce you, but could you put the gun away? I don't like guns in my house."

He snorted in disgust, "And you call yourself an X5!"

She ignored the comment, but relaxed a little when he walked over and set the gun down on the windowsill and took a couple of steps away from it. It wouldn't take any effort for him to retrieve it, but at least for the minute he had conceded to her wishes. "Mole, this is Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Dr Bruce Banner. Everyone, this is Mole, a good friend of Alec's." She wasn't sure how else to introduce them all, but it seemed to be enough for the moment, as she watched Steve hold out a hand to shake Mole's in greeting.

Somewhat reluctantly, Mole took a few more steps away from the windowsill and shook Steve's hand. "Nice to meet you," Steve said and looked expectantly until Mole said, "Yeah, sure. Erm, you too."

Max hid her smile and instead turned to the doctor and said, "Alec's through here."

"He woke up but didn't stay awake for long and was no more coherent than last time, still rambling on about Ben," Mole warned as Bruce started to follow Max through to the bedroom. Before closing the door, Max heard Mole say, "Well, you two had better sit down then, hadn't you?"

# # #

Bruce walked into the 'bedroom' with Max, instantly aware of how similar to so many of the things he'd seen as he ran across the world, hiding in the downtrodden areas of developing countries. The poverty, the determination to make do with very little and to be clever about utilizing what was available to make life a little more bearable. He took in the storage locker closet, the bedside unit that looked more like it was the drawers from one side of an office desk sawn away from the rest of the desk, the shower curtains hanging in the window as if they were real curtains.

There was an office lamp on the bedside unit, the light off. Bruce could see a tall, shaggy haired man leaning over the figure in the bed, wiping the sleeping man's face with a cloth. "How's he doing?" Bruce asked quietly, unwilling to disturb the sleeping man.

The figure stood up from the bed and as he straightened, Bruce took a step back. The man was taller than Steve, much taller. In fact Bruce would guess that he would tower over even Thor in height, although perhaps not so much in attitude. This man was far less prepossessing. "Oh," said the figure, "Alec not good. Too hot. Much too hot even for X5."

"Dr Banner, this is Joshua, our room mate," Max introduced.

"Oh, Doctor! That's good. Alec need doctor. You fix him, make him right."

"Well, I'll certainly try to help. May I?" he gestured at Alec, waiting for the go-ahead from Max or Joshua to approach the bed. Max nodded, but followed him closely. He sat down on the bed. Reaching out, he laid a hand on Alec's forehead, feeling the burning temperature.

"Ben, don't!" Alec muttered under his breath. "Can't do that," he said as he tried to roll away from Bruce's touch. "Can't hurt people. Better than that. We can be better than that for Max."

Bruce looked up at Max. She shrugged, "He's been hallucinating for a while . . . before this injury." She chewed on her lip as if unwilling to say anymore than that.

Bruce kept calm, deliberately unthreatening as he said, "I want to help, it will be easier for me to do that if I know what's been happening and if there is anything else I should know about him specifically."

"He's an advanced X5 series. They adapted his genes to make him faster, stronger, more intelligent even than the rest of us, but he has to keep a higher calorie food intake than a normal X5. It fell below what he needed and he became ill. We increased it and he was getting better but the hallucinations that started as part of it haven't gone yet."

"Okay, and the injury he received?"

"We don't know. He'd been outside, we think, but we don't know why. While he was out, something must have happened and he was stabbed. He made it to a safe area, but got lost. He shouldn't have been lost - he's one of the people who set up the routes and the markers to guide us in safely. We think he lost consciousness through blood loss and was laid in an area contaminated with toxic waste when he was found. We don't know how long he was there for."

"So the first thing we need to do is get some blood into him."

"We did that. We cleaned him up and then gave him a transfusion. He's better now, in that he's breathing steadier, he's regained consciousness briefly a couple of times, but he doesn't make sense when he is conscious."

"You gave him a transfusion?" Bruce sounded horrified.

"All X5-series are made to be universal donors. Anyone of us can give blood directly to another. It doesn't need treatment beforehand and we don't have to worry about blood types. We were created for front-line battle conditions. They wanted to ensure that we were as resilient as possible and one way to ensure that they could get their assets back was to make it 'easier' to keep one another alive without the need for outside medics. It's not like any of us would have been allowed to report to any other medics out in the field. The only treatment permitted, beyond what we learned to do for each other in field med, would have been by sanctioned Manticore medical staff."

Bruce looked uncomfortable but didn't say a word, instead turning his attention back to Alec. Checking over a number of vitals, he asked Max if she would mind if he checked the wound. She shrugged her acquiescence and Bruce carefully began to unwrap Alec's wound.

He was impressed in as much as it had been properly cleaned and neatly stitched. The area looked inflamed though and he knew that there was a strong possibility of infection. "He needs a cleaner environment and proper meds. . . Look, there isn't much that I can do for him that you haven't already done. Have you heard of SHIELD?"

Max shook her head, "No. What is it?"

"It's who we work for sometimes. The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division to give its full title. Through them I would have access to better medical treatment and better doctors, or through Tony. Tony has access to a number of things that the rest of us could never dream of. I think he's pretty invested in Alec's recovery, judging by his reaction when he heard that Alec was ill."

"Invested? What do you mean invested?"

"He and Steve are pretty concerned about the welfare of everyone here. Tony has been spending a lot of time on some designs that he and Alec had discussed. And when I say a lot I mean seriously masses of time."

"What does he want then? From us?"

"Nothing. What he wants is better conditions and better chances for all of you. But he's a realist and he knows more than anyone, what he can affect in the short term and what will take longer. The question is how much do you trust him? Or Steve? Or even me? Do you trust any of us enough to let us take Alec with us and get him the help he needs?"

"Not on own," Joshua said bluntly. "Nobody takes Alec alone. Alec have friends, friends to protect him. Nobody takes Alec away from his friends."

Max waited to see what Bruce's reaction would be.

"Well, I need to talk to Tony and Steve about this anyway. I guess it just means we persuade them to take two of you."

"Do you realize what you're saying?" Max demanded harshly. "You're saying you want two Transgenics to go with you to some unknown location and some no doubt military installation of some kind? You do realize we've just got free from Manticore. Do you honestly think we would let Alec go with you and end up in another compound somewhere, being experimented on until they've fathomed all our secrets and can create a whole new batch of X series?"

"Then that leaves us at somewhat of an impasse," Bruce replied. "I can't get him the help he needs here - not safely. And like you said, you can't agree to let him go with us in search of that help in case we're taking him to something worse. What do you suggest we do?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Steve couldn't say that he was any more certain that this was a good idea than Max was, but, Bruce was right, the truth of the matter was Alec needed better medical attention than they could get him in Terminal City.

He also wasn't entirely convinced that taking Mole with them as a bodyguard was the best idea. The guy was acerbic to put it politely and Steve felt like he was just waiting for him and Tony to end up brawling, but having listened to the Transgenics debate the matter he could see the point that they had decided on.

Mole was a 'better option' than anyone else they had considered sending. Firstly, he was strong, independent and not easily put down either physically or verbally. He was the kind of muscle and brawn that nightclub owners only dream about employing as bouncers. He was intelligent and decisive, equally strong characteristics. He was also, in terms of how Manticore or any other researcher was concerned, an awful lot less valuable than a healthy X series. Mole was not what they wanted to capture and re-create and so they were all hoping that it would be the answer to both his and Alec's safety and the trust they were counting on developing with the Transgenics left behind.

Tony had made contact with the plane and it now hovered overhead of the apartment they were in. Mole was the one to carefully lift Alec wrapped in blankets that Steve wasn't sure the Transgenics could really afford to lose and carry him down the stairs. Steve stood by him on the ground as Tony and Bruce were lifted back upwards.

It didn't take long for a basket to come down into which Mole gently laid the sick man. They gave Max the time and privacy to lean over him and press a gentle kiss to his forehead. As she stepped away, Mole straddled the basket while Steve took the harness and the three of them were hoisted up. Within moments, the plane had set off back on its journey to New York and hopefully the treatment that Alec would need.

# # #

_He shivered in the cold and dark, as he waited for the next question. He didn't say anything that he wasn't asked anymore. He didn't give any indication that he'd begun to remember before._

_He was broken, he knew that much for sure, irredeemable and unforgiveable for all the things he had done. Watching 494 had shown him what his life should have been like if he'd understood the world outside Manticore's control. 494 was the better of them and he was being sent to destroy him._

_For the first time ever he had a mission of his own choosing that was right and just. He just needed to work out how to put it into play._

"_So where is 494?" she demanded. _

"_Alone, hurt. Maybe dying. He's lost and losing blood. I think he's giving up." The trick was not to lie - she'd be able to tell if he lied. Instead he told her selected truths. 494, Alec his mind whispered giving his clone the humanity he deserved, had been lost, alone and hurt, but that wasn't where he was now. He had been unconscious from blood loss, but all of that had been before the long-haired one had found him in the tunnels and taken him home, before Max and the other girl had cleaned him and tended his injuries, before he had seen Max crying at his bedside. He owed it to Max more than anyone to do all he could to make sure that the Transgenics realized the truth._

_If he died doing this, then it was justice for everyone and hopefully his own suffering would be over and he could be forgiven for a little of what he had done. _

# # #

The raiding party made it back into Terminal City without further incident. The group raiding a pharmacy had been successful, bringing back enough variety of stock drugs and general medical supplies that they hoped it wouldn't be obvious who had broken in and the key essentials that they had been desperate for. The other group came back empty-handed with Adam in the center of the other two members of the team as if under guard. When they got back to Terminal City, instead of heading for the Command Center or their own homes they headed up to their own meeting room in the loft of the warehouse where Max and Adam had spoken so long ago.

With no idea what else to do, they had forced extra supplies onto Adam, hoping that there would be a simple solution to his hallucination and that the extra calories would balance whatever was slipping off-kilter, allowing him to return to normal. He remained slumped onto the battered old couch with his head in his hands as the others discussed the situation around him.

Charlie was dead, he knew that. He'd been gunned down a few days after their escape from Manticore, when they'd been almost caught by White and his familiars. He'd been dead before they'd left him and there'd been no point in taking his body with them. They'd always presumed it would have been picked up by the White's men.

So why was Adam seeing him now? It couldn't be him or a clone of him because no one else had seen anything? The only explanation was that something inside him was breaking, just like it had broken in Alec and he was going to become a liability unless he could either learn to ignore it as Alec did or unless he could find some way to stop it happening.

"Come on, Adam. You've got to give us some clue as to how bad this is. How long's it been going on?"

"That was the first," he admitted reluctantly.

"So this boost might be enough. Do we need to be talking to Alec and Max about an increase in our supplies? What's the likelihood of the rest of us starting with the symptoms as well?" Adam looked at David's face, saw the worry etched in his features and knew he was thinking of how he'd watched another of their kind, X5-326 turn after the two of them had been punished and locked up in a cell without food for a week and then given minimum rations. 326 had completely lost it and David had had to watch and then finally damage him. They all knew there had been no other option, 326 had been a danger to them both, their only hope of survival and getting out of the cage alive was if they hadn't torn each other limb from limb. As 326's condition had deteriorated and he'd lost all semblance of the ability to think logically, he'd repeatedly tried to attack David. David had had no choice but to break his legs and then leave him in pain on the other side of the cage. He'd then had to fight his own instincts to take advantage of 326's weakened position and wait for them both to be released.

No one had ever seen 326 again and David had never fully recovered from the trauma of having to inflict an injury on a team mate in order to ensure he himself survived. Adam knew he owed it to them all to be the one to direct what they did while he could, just as Alec had done. He scrubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath, before beginning to speak. "You tell Max. You confine me to base, until we figure this out and how to stop it. You watch me closely and at the first sign I'm going to hurt someone you tell Mole. You do whatever is best for everyone and you stop trusting me to make rational decisions. This is rational now, but who knows what will come from me in the future. Safeguard Terminal City and all Transgenics - not me."

# # #

The apartment was quiet without Alec. Max knew that was a ridiculous thing to be thinking because Alec was in reality nowhere near as noisy as he gave the impression of being. The center of attention party boy that she'd thought she knew back at Jam Pony was just another charade, the real Alec was far quieter and far more thoughtful. In a world he didn't understand, he wore a mask that seemed to fit in with the crowd, that made him popular and kept the real Alec protected.

More recently, he'd only worn the facade when he was outside dealing with other people, fulfilling his duties as a leader of the Transgenic Nation. Sometimes she thought only she and Joshua really saw the genuine Alec.

And now she missed him. She didn't want to spend the day at Command Center, knowing that neither Alec nor Mole would be there to help her or to lighten the load. She didn't want to be here at all with Alec hundreds of miles away. She'd never expected to feel so deeply, so strongly for another person. It was more than she'd ever felt before.

She'd barely slept for worrying about him, hoping that he would understand the decisions they had made for him. Trying to force her thoughts away from becoming maudlin and negative about Alec's welfare, she'd tried to focus instead on other Terminal City business, but that had just constantly drawn her back to Alec and Mole's absence and how she was going to manage without either of them.

As the sky finally began to lighten she'd given up on pretending to sleep and instead had got up and dressed. With the first dawning light, she was perched in Alec's spot on the windowsill in time to see a figure jogging lightly down the edge of the street from the unused sections of the city, sticking as close to the wall to stay under the overhang of the buildings and out of the rain. As he drew closer, she recognized Almond from the time she'd spent with Alec and Adam and their team. As he angled himself to dash across the open space, it was obvious he was heading her way.

She didn't want to speak to him, didn't want to have to admit that she'd allowed someone else to take Alec away without her there to guard him. Wearily, she pushed herself to her feet and made her way downstairs to the door to let him in. There was no point in him banging on the door and waking up Joshua as well. Somebody may as well get some decent sleep.

She wasn't prepared for Almond's reaction to her opening the door. He jerked to a halt, looking every bit as uncomfortable and unwilling to be there as she was and although he agreed to come inside, he wouldn't come up the stairs. "I need to tell you something," he said urgently. "We discussed it and decided it was best to tell you straightaway, but we know Alec's still ill so we didn't want it to worry him, but he expects us to follow orders and . . ."

"It's fine. Tell me," she said, taking his words as an opportunity to not let him know that Alec wasn't there at all.

"Adam has started having hallucinations," he said, cutting straight to the chase.

She stumbled backward in shock, sitting down abruptly on the steps and dropping her head into her hands. She couldn't afford to be without Adam as well. Everyone she relied on was being taken from her. "Why? Do you know?"

Almond shook his head and shrugged. "We've tried giving him some extra rations - out of ours, not from . . ."

She cut him off. "Stop! You need to get everybody on extra rations from your team. Hang on here," she said before dashing back up the stairs. It only took her a couple of minutes to bundle Alec's extra rations that he now wouldn't be needing for a while into a bag and rush back down the stairs. "We'll figure out how we're going to do this permanently. I need some of you to join me in Command Center today and we'll figure it out. If Adam's up to it, bring him with you. I need someone else to help me co-ordinate and Alec can't and Mole is having to do something else, so if Adam's up to the office work, he can help me until he's fit to travel with the team again."

"You'd be okay with him. He's not been violent or anything. He just keeps seeing Charlie and says that Charlie is trying to get him to do things."

"Who is Charlie?"

"He was one of us . . . kind of . . . He died after we escaped, when White's men almost caught us. To be honest, he wasn't the most popular guy. He was a bigger model X5, always more aggressive. He brought us more trouble than anyone else, always looking for fights. He was a bit of a liability."

"He died?" It niggled slightly that both Adam and Alec were hallucinating dead X5s.

"Yeah, White's guys shot him up. No way he could have survived."

She let the matter drop, returning to plans for what they needed to do to get their team more rations. As Almond turned to leave, she said, "Thank you. We'll get through this somehow and figure out something, but please, Almond, keep an eye on everybody else . . . just in case."

# # #

Mole had to admit to himself, not anyone else, that he'd never seen anything like Avengers Tower. It was lavish, opulent and completely over the top for a pair of Transgenics who were used to cells, barracks and if they were lucky a cot and blanket to sleep on. He and Alec had been put together into a guest suite. They'd been given separate rooms and a living area and kitchen.

Alec was asleep peacefully for the time being and Mole was surveying the terrain, establishing entry and exit points, safe zones and generally trying to work out what they were supposed to do with all the space and all the gadgetry, the majority of which Mole had no idea what to do with.

Although he'd checked out the second bedroom, he'd decided that at least until Alec was fully conscious and coherent, he had no intention of using it. He was here to be a bodyguard, so he was going to guard properly and he couldn't do that if he was sleeping deeply down a corridor behind another closed door and he didn't care what anyone else had to say about it.

There was a knock at the suite door and he moved to open the door, seeing Bruce, Tony and Steve on the other side. He let them in, eyeing them warily. "I thought you said this was your place?" he said eventually.

"It is," said Tony. "Do you have everything you need? I don't know whether you want to join us to eat this evening or whether you want to order in or . . . Well whatever, just tell Jarvis and he'll let me know and we'll figure it out."

"If this place is yours, why'd you knock?" Mole said bluntly.

"Well, it's mine, but . . ." Tony fell silent, not really sure how to explain the etiquette of personal space.

Steve tried to explain. "The Tower is Tony's, but while you're here, this area is yours. Courtesy dictates that he would knock before entering your area in most circumstances."

"Why?"

"It's just an expectation, in the same way that as a soldier, a person gets used to no privacy at all."

Mole regarded Steve carefully. "So you were a soldier."

"For a time, yes," Steve replied.

Mole stared at him and then turned his gaze assessing onto Bruce and Tony, before saying, "They weren't soldiers."

"No, they weren't. They are Avengers however," Steve explained.

Bruce interrupted, "May I check on Alec?"

"He's still asleep. And I'm coming with you anyway," Mole's voice was a quiet growl. "You're not going to harm him."

Bruce nodded, not bothering to repeat yet again his assurances that he intended no harm to Alec or Mole. He moved quietly past Steve and Tony and headed for the room in which they had set Alec. He sat down on the side of Alec's bed and took readings of his temperature and his blood pressure. He laid a hand gently on Alec's forehead and seemed to be trying to decide whether the slightly clammy skin beneath his palm was any better than it had been before.

Mole hovered on the other side of the bed, watching his every move. He was a looming guard between Alec and Steve and Tony who were standing in the doorway, making his intentions clear if they were to try anything.

"Jarvis," Bruce spoke, "Could you monitor Alec's vital signs and inform me if any should take a turn for the worse?"

"Certainly, sir," came the disembodied voice.

Mole flinched, eyes flicking angrily round the room.

"Mole!" Steve stepped forward. "Jarvis is the house computer, he is able to monitor the rooms and can respond to any requests you might have. For instance if you needed something, you would ask Jarvis and he would arrange to have whatever it was brought to you. Or if there were something you were unsure of, he could offer advice. Giving directions, finding another member of the household, things like that. He also arranges for cleaning and any maintenance and anything you can think of really."

The tension in Mole's posture didn't ease any despite his "Oh," that appeared to convey an acceptance of the situation. His eyes went back to Alec, but nothing had changed. He'd be glad when they could get back out of here to, what was probably, a more primitive existence but at least it made sense and he understood it. Right now, he just felt like he was floundering without any real plan of action. Mole thought his disciplinary record had always shown a distinct lack of patience when it came to waiting for the 'target' to be acquired. It probably wasn't that surprising that he didn't really have the patience to sit and watch over his friend.

# # #

As the sun began to rise and slowly encroach on the room, shedding a purple glow through the semi-opaque curtains, Alec rolled over, almost awake but eyes not yet open. The bed didn't smell of Max. It seemed softer and wider too. He started to panic, eyes shooting open as suddenly as he sat up. His breath was short and panting as he tried to locate the source of danger. He didn't recognize his surroundings and decided the best course of action was to get away while no one was looking. He stood up, immediately staggering as he lost his balance on uncertain legs.

"Master Alec, sir," a voice came out of nowhere and had him whirling round looking for the threat. "Master Alec, sir. I am Jarvis and I mean you no harm. I have informed Master Mole that you have woken and he will be here momentarily. Might I suggest that you sit down again for the moment?"

Alec didn't sit down. Instead he pulled on the only clothes he could see, a pair of jeans and he headed for the window, wrenching it sideways far enough that he could fit through the gap out onto the balcony. He was just squeezing through, when he heard the door open and a familiar voice said, "Hey Princess, where do you think you're going? I have no desire to follow you off the balcony, so get your delicate ass back in this bed where it belongs!"

Alec wavered, eyes flitting back to Mole anxiously. Mole didn't stop, just came close enough to take hold of Alec's arm and pull him back into the room. "Seriously, I seem to spend my whole life chasing round after idiot X5s who can't look after themselves . . ." Mole grumbled. "And there's only the one I do it for. What does that say about the amount of trouble you manage to get yourself into, Princess?" Mole tightened his grip as Alec felt himself falter and his eyes begin to glaze, his vision darkening like it had in the tunnel, almost as if he was going to lose consciousness. Alec grasped out desperately with his free hand, clutching into the fabric of Mole's shirt when he finally made contact. He breathed deeply trying to steady himself and pushed away the thoughts of how weak he was that he couldn't even stand on his own two feet. He was X5, he couldn't afford to show weakness; weakness could be punished. If he wasn't strong enough, he'd be thrown into the basement with the -.

He snapped his eyes open again, gaze flitting round. "Alec. Alec!" Mole's voice was insistent until their eyes met. "Alec, you need to sit down," Mole said, dropping the teasing tone he'd had before. He didn't wait to give Alec time to try pulling away again, but instead used his height and strength to guide his friend back to sit on the edge of the bed.

"'Nomalie," Alec muttered almost under his breath.

"Mole actually, but you're not completely wrong," Mole said tiredly as he just caught Alec's word. "Geez, kid, you put yourself through the ringer."

"Master Mole, sir, would you like me to contact Dr Banner and have him come down to help with Master Alec?" Jarvis asked, quietly.

"Nah, the kid and I are good. It'll teach me to go off and think about breakfast!"

"Max, don't hurt Max. Hurt her too much already. . ." Alec mumbled as Mole pushed him to sit down and pulled a blanket round his shoulders.

"The only time you hurt her is when you get yourself messed up like this, Princess," Mole reassured. "What the hell are we going to do with you? How do we get some sense knocked in that stubborn brain of yours? Any suggestions?"

"Don't want to kill. Ben tells me, but I don't want to kill anyone."

"Sir, Master Alec is showing signs of agitation, his heart rate has significantly increased and I think it might be advisable to call Dr Banner now."

"We're good!" Mole said irritably.

"Ben, no!" Alec said, only remaining where he was because Mole had him pinned.

"There's no Ben," Mole said insistently. "It's just you and me and a set of talking walls, which is a creepy ass thing to have but supposedly it's not going to do us any harm."

"He's going to kill you! Death to the 'nomalies!"

"Sir, Dr Banner is on his way. Should I let him in or do you wish to answer the door?"

"I said No!" Mole gritted the words out towards the ceiling angrily. "Which part of that did you not get? We don't need him. We should have never come here. I'll kill Max and her half-cocked ideas, she doesn't know a thing!" Mole was attempting to get Alec to calm down and stop trying to escape from him as he complained to Jarvis and the words only made Alec more determined to get away.

"Max," Alec said as he tried to escape Mole's firm grip, only ceasing when Mole said his designation firmly. Alec listened as Mole said again where they were and what was happening. Part of him knew that he knew the 'nomalie before him, part of him wanted to trust him . . . but Ben hovered over behind the 'nomalie's shoulder and Alec couldn't trust that he knew what was real anymore.

# # #

Bruce was working in his lab, relishing the peace. He worked automatically, almost without thinking. His thoughts were barely on his work, more preoccupied by Alec's well-being and how best he could help the young Transgenic. He wondered if Tony, or Coulson even, knew of a real medical doctor who could help them. Then again, he still didn't really know what they were dealing with. Mole hadn't liked the idea of him drawing blood to test and so they were left with treating symptoms as opposed to being able to find the cause of the problems in the first place.

He'd tried to talk calmly and logically with Mole about what he could find out from the blood, but when the Transhuman had pointed out that he would have access to a lot more than just the cause of Alec's current problem, he had ended up backing off. In Mole's opinion, he would conceivably be able to start to unpick Manticore's work, to come closer to creating his own super soldiers. One thing was for sure, Mole didn't trust any of them and with Alec confused and barely recognizing even his long-time friend, nothing was getting any easier.

Bruce was trying to keep his own thoughts on the brighter side of the situation. Alec was in a far healthier environment, everything was clean and the food was fresh; surely that had to count for something. What he needed was Alec in a calm and more lucid moment without pressure from Mole to agree to a blood test.

"Dr Banner, sir," Jarvis broke the near silence in the room. "I am sorry to interrupt but I wondered if now might be a good time to share an observation of Master Alec with you."

Bruce dropped the stylus and touchpad that he had been working on to the table, turning round to face the open space of the room, all of his focus now on Jarvis' next words. "Talk to me, Jarvis. Tell me something that's going to help me fix the poor kid up."

"Sir, when the sheets were changed on Master Alec's bed, following his high temperature over night, before arranging for them to be laundered, I took the opportunity to analyze them. There was evidence that Master Alec has been exposed to toxins that would push even an X-5 to the limit of their tolerance given that he was also unwell. The open wound has allowed some of those toxins to enter his system. It does appear, however, that his system is 'dealing' with it and is purging those toxins over time. Unfortunately it is difficult to tell without a direct blood sample the level of contamination he is still experiencing. Current evidence would suggest that it is far in excess of anything that an unmodified human could survive exposure to."

"Jarvis, is Alec a danger to anyone else in the building?"

"Due to the toxins, sir? Not significantly, however I would suggest that it would be advisable to maintain a medical procedure when dealing with him, in the wearing of gloves and so on for safety. As Master Mole is assisting with matters such as changing the linens and is the one in closest proximity I believe the risk to anyone else would be very small indeed, and further evidence would suggest that Master Mole would have much higher resistance due to his altered genetics."

"So just keep going as we are doing and try to persuade them to let us have a blood sample. Fine."

"Sir, there was another matter. . ."

"Yes."

"Sir, you requested that I monitor everything possible in respect to Master Alec's health." Bruce waited wondering what Jarvis was about to tell him. "Sir, when Master Alec awoke this morning, he was unsettled and disoriented, not knowing where he was and so on. Shortly after he woke there was a very small surge in the ambient electricity in the room. Had Master Thor been home, I would probably not have registered the change at all. Master Tony has requested that I keep a consistent check on the electrical charges throughout the building in order to both monitor situations in the laboratories and also around Master Thor after the early incidents . . ." Jarvis didn't elaborate, although Bruce remembered perfectly some of Thor's early mishaps with Earth electricity and his unintentional tendency to overload the system 'to speed things up'. "Everything within the building and in particular the living quarters has been a consistent low level of 'normal'. Therefore I have been able to spot some slight anomalies that under more usual circumstances would not necessarily have been noticeable. Sir, each time Master Alec has a hallucination, it is preceded by a very small surge in the ambient electricity level and that surge seems to focus very specifically on Master Alec himself. This may be a matter for concern or consideration or perhaps just further investigation."

"Yes, it might be exactly that, Jarvis. Thank you."

Well, he certainly had some food for thought now, areas to investigate further. The difficulty was going to be in convincing Mole to allow him to carry out some tests on Alec.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"You look tired," Tony said. "Is everything okay?"

Tired was an understatement, Max looked exhausted, broken. It hurt Tony to have to just deal with what he could without being able to fix it all straightaway, particularly when he looked at her now, knowing that in all likelihood she was to some degree related to him. He was going soft, caring about other people. It was easier to deal with 'caring' when all it involved was charity dinners and throwing money in whichever direction Pepper pointed him or when it involved designing and working on something in his lab and not having to actually face the person he was doing it for. Even Iron Man, which no doubt Steve would say was him doing something good and caring, involved a suit of armor and weapons and nothing face to face, unless you counted the bad guy, which was fine, because with the bad guy he didn't have to deal with the whole 'caring' thing.

"Yeah, fine," Max said. She gave him a weak smile. "Guess I'm missing Mole and Alec more than I expected. How are they? Mole isn't causing you too many problems, is he?"

Tony smiled, wondering why she kept saying Mole when he was sure that it was Alec she really wanted to know about. "Mole's fine. He seems a little uncomfortable with the space and the facilities. I think he's decided we're all soft and can't do anything for ourselves. He may well have a point actually." He laughed, trying to ease the tension a little. "And as for Alec, he seems to be improving a little. He's been a bit confused - maybe we should have tried to get him to understand what we were doing before we brought him out here. Do you want to talk to him? I could take the tablet up there and the two of you could chat for a while. It may reassure him a little that we haven't just kidnapped him. Mole isn't the most reassuring guy to have around and if I'm honest with you, I don't think he trusts us either. Bruce wanted to do some blood tests to check on Alec, you know the toxins in his system and stuff, but Mole won't allow it. Mole's opinion is that we're going to use whatever we find to create our own super soldiers."

"Do you want me to talk to him? I could try and convince them both. I'm not saying it would work. . . Maybe if you did, you could figure out what was causing Alec's hallucinations before, right?"

"Maybe," Tony agreed.

Max looked completely torn, like she was faced with a choice that might result in someone dying, but she seemed to steel herself before saying so quietly that Tony found himself leaning closer to make sure he heard every word she said. "Tony, I'm trusting you and Steve because Alec wanted me to. Please don't let me down. I need to know what caused Alec's hallucinations. I need that information and how to stop it urgently."

"Max, what's happened?"

"Adam, Alec's second in command, has started having hallucinations too. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before there are more members of their group all suffering from this. I've upped their rations as much as I can but . . ." She rubbed at her eyes as if to stop herself from starting to cry and Tony was struck yet again by just how young and how abandoned the Transgenics were. No amount of military training could ever have prepared them for this.

"Max," he said softly. "I'll talk to Steve, we'll get you extra supplies of food. Can we arrange a pick up outside Terminal City? Or do you want us to air drop it in? Tell me how much you need, how many people you've got and we'll help. We'll get you as much as you need."

"I can't sell my people out to you."

"Max, no. This is not selling out. This is me giving you all that you deserve, all that the government and public should be giving you. We'll figure something out, I promise."

He was relieved when she gave a reluctant nod. The two of them talked for a while longer before he told her to clean herself up ready to talk to Alec. They broke the connection with the agreement to talk again in half an hour when Tony would have seen if Alec was up to talking.

# # #

There was a knock on the door downstairs and Max headed down to answer it, pulling her clothes into a more presentable appearance and brushing her fingers through her hair, hoping that it didn't look too bad.

She opened the door to find Almond and Pace outside, both with frantic looks on their faces. "Er, guys? What are you doing here?"

"We needed to talk to you, away from the Command Center."

She waved them in to the apartment and led them upstairs. The two of them looked round, taking in the layout and how Alec, Joshua and she had tried to make the space a little more homely, with the walls painted and some of Joshua's paintings on the wall and their little accumulation of repurposed furniture.

"You've made it look nice here," Pace said. "Like a real home."

Max didn't want to tell them that this was nothing like a real home, when there was a strong possibility they'd never had a real experience of 'home' at all. She knew little about them and their past, beyond the fact that Alec and Adam would vouch for them.

"What did you want to talk about?" she brought them back to the reason for their visit.

They shared a look as if trying to decide how to go ahead with the conversation or maybe it was to decide who was going to speak first. Pace glanced at her and then down at her feet before saying, "Adam isn't the only one having hallucinations."

She looked at them in horror. "Who? Not - not you two?"

They both shook their heads. "Not us," confirmed Almond. "Ruben and Bond. Ruben is seeing X5-522. He was the first one they gave the enhancements too. He was a heavier model, he turned violent. They had to put him down. . . They'd already given Ruben the serum by then and . . . well, he spent a long time afraid the same was going to happen to him."

"How is he?"

"We've got him confined . . . for his own safety. Adam, Kismet and Bond are keeping watch over him. He's -" Pace stopped talking, looking across at Almond.

"He's not likely to hurt anyone else, but he might try to do something to himself. It wouldn't be the first time."

"And are Adam and Bond able to watch over him in their condition? I mean if they're having hallucinations too?"

The two of them shrugged. "We needed to come and talk to you. Who else can we call on to watch them? We're running out of options here. Your average X5 could be overpowered by them unless you go for one of the heavy models. Most of the strongest heavy models are members of 'The Elite'. They're not exactly going to help with this. They'd be more likely to take it as an advantage, a chance to get rid of 'Alec's little clan'. The alternatives are we keep them restrained or we hope they don't all have hallucinations at the same time. What do you want us to do?"

"I'm standing you down, all of you. I want the three of you who are still okay to keep watch and to protect the others. I want the six of you to come out the other side of this and be fine and that has to be the priority. I will figure something out so that we can keep maintaining your rations high to make sure that isn't a factor in triggering this and I will figure something out for the other raiding parties to do more. Where are you all staying now?"

They shared another look before Pace said, "We've moved deeper into the contaminated zone and set up a barracks for the six of us."

"Does anyone know where you are?"

"No."

"Then I shall have Luke list you all as out on long range reconnaissance for the next few weeks, looking for sources of food from further away. It was something Alec had been talking about arranging."

"You want us to leave?" Almond said, a hint of defensive anger bleeding through his posture and his words.

"No, I want you in hiding away from everyone else, where no one else can take advantage of those who are suffering and I want you protected. I will go to stores and I will bring you supplies before you 'leave', enough supplies for the first couple of days. I will meet you here in three hours and I will have as much as I can for you. Joshua and I will figure something out to get more to you. You'll report to me or Joshua every day, either by us coming to you or by you coming here. I want to know everything that they hallucinate and anything that happens. Most of all I want you all to stay safe. You can have Mole and Alec's rations as well until I can't take them anymore."

# # #

Alec was sitting in a chair in sight of the window, looking out into the distance, trying to keep himself calm and steady so that he stopped worrying everyone. Ben was sitting quietly on the side of the bed, just visible out of the corner of his eye. Ben looked ill, hurt and bruised which didn't really make sense, but he tried not to think about it too much.

He felt guilty that he'd reacted so badly to Mole earlier, even worse when he'd realized the things he'd said about 'nomalies. Mole didn't seem to have taken offense but it didn't really make him feel better about what he'd said. Mole had stuck by him, stood up for him and what had he ever done in return? Nothing that anywhere near equaled the friendship and patience Mole had shown him.

He looked round as there was a knock on the open door behind him. Tony was standing there. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," he said starting to push himself to stand up and wincing as the movement made the wound in his side begin to throb. Tony moved forward quickly, putting a hand on his shoulder to halt him and pressed him down again.

When he'd stopped trying to get up, Tony moved across to the bed. Alec bit his lip anxiously, watched as Tony sat directly on the spot where Ben had been, saw as Ben's image wavered round Tony for a moment before vanishing. He let out a relieved breath. "Thank you for all you've done," he said. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you. I - I can't believe Max called you. I - I didn't even know she knew where the tablet was."

Tony shrugged, "Doesn't matter, I'm glad she did contact me. I'm glad we can offer a little help. Steve and I are arranging to have some supplies delivered for your teams to collect. We'll talk the details over with Max later to keep everyone safe. Now while I've got you to myself for a few minutes, Bruce thinks that perhaps if he could have a blood sample, he might be able to analyze it and find out whether your body needs help to get rid of the toxins but he'd also like to test a few things that might give a clue as to the source of the hallucinations."

"Why didn't you just take some before? Or did you and this is . . ." he trailed off uncertain, then turned his attention to his arms as if he would find a puncture wound from previously drawn blood.

"Alec, hey, look at me," Tony said worriedly, hoping to distract him. "We didn't take any before. Mole was worried that you wouldn't want to have it done."

"Oh. Right. Well, I guess you can take it, not like I would miss just a little bit, right?"

"I'll get Bruce down to take some, okay?" He waited for Alec to nod before asking Jarvis to invite Bruce to join them and to bring what he needed to take blood.

"Alec, I thought maybe once we were done, you'd like to talk to Max for a while so I've brought my tablet down and we're going to speak to her in about thirty minutes, when she's free."

# # #

Tony hovered first at the side of the room and then just outside the door after setting up the tablet for Max and Alec to talk. He hadn't wanted to intrude but he also felt responsible for the kid, having promised to look out for him while Mole took some time in the gym. He wasn't sure how the Transhuman was going to take finding out that he'd persuaded Alec to give Bruce the blood sample he needed or that he'd let him talk to Max, but Alec was calm and fairly rational, only a few comments giving away his lack of confidence.

Tony could hear the warmth in both Max and Alec's voices as they talked together. "Hey Maxie," Alec greeted, the affection in the words was deep and Tony was relieved to hear it there, relieved that Alec recognized her and was able to be genuine in his reaction.

Her voice sounded lighter, as if just physically seeing him in the flesh and getting to speak to him was enough to lift her spirits as well, rather than having to rely on what other people were telling her and trusting she was getting the truth. Tony noticed that she didn't tell Alec anything about Adam and the other Transgenics starting to have hallucinations, but then as Tony looked at him he was reminded that Alec had more than enough battles of his own to fight without worrying about anyone else's.

He'd done the right thing, he was fairly confident that Steve would agree. The question was what he should do next. Transgenics might be able to survive in that toxic waste dump that they were calling Terminal City, but the reality was it didn't do them any good and, in Tony's mind, there was more to life than survival. If, as was now a very real possibility, he was related to some of these people, he owed them more than a filtration and extraction unit to clean up Terminal City. If his father held any degree of responsibility for their existence, he owed them something better.

Wyoming or Montana; he would buy a huge farm in one of those states and they could live there, away from prying eyes. Wyoming would be better. Yeah, that's what he'd do, he find something suitable in Wyoming. It still was a little too close to Seattle and the memory of something he'd read in his father's papers - the original Manticore base had been in Wyoming at Gillette. No, on second thoughts there was no way was he sending anyone back there.

Maine . .. Maine with the sea border and an escape to Canada would make it a far better option and it wasn't too far away for him to keep a close eye on them and make sure that they were all doing okay.

# # #

Tony had stayed with Alec, managed to even get the young man to relax enough to chat and tell him a little about his life between escaping Manticore and being confined to Terminal City. It struck Tony again that given the chance the majority of the Transgenics would want jobs and would happily work for a living. They weren't expecting anything for nothing.

He managed to scrape together something to eat from the well stocked fridge, and was relieved that nothing was too burned or unrecognizable that Alec wasn't willing to eat it and when Mole returned, Alec was alert and ready to question his friend about where he'd been and what he'd done. Mole was equally enthusiastic about some of the equipment that he'd used in the gym and said that Steve had kept him company. Tony was pleased that the Transhuman seemed to be more relaxed, that Steve seemed to have broken through his crusty exterior and formed the start of a friendship. He supposed that it was the kind of thing that Steve could be relied on to at least try. Tony figured he could always hope that it would also stand him in good stead when Mole found out that he'd convinced Alec to give blood . . . not that he wanted the big guy to find out just now; maybe later, when he was even more accepting, or when they had fixed Alec because of it.

He made his goodbyes with promises to visit again later, and left the two of them to themselves.

He drifted aimlessly through the tower, finally finding himself outside the door to Bruce's lab and letting himself in. There was no sign of Bruce, so he dropped down onto a stool and activated the screen beside him. He poked listlessly at the data so he could scan through everything that was there. Not that it really told him very much that he understood. This was Bruce's domain, not his. He contemplated asking Jarvis to locate Bruce and get him to come back to the lab to explain the data on the screen, but thought twice and kept silent instead. He knew Bruce had been spending hours working on every ounce of data he'd been able to retrieve. If the man wasn't in his lab now, he was in all likelihood taking a much needed break and it wasn't fair for Tony to pester him for answers.

He pushed himself up and crossed the room to look at some of the other things that Bruce had been working on. He read a set of paper notes that appeared to be something about monitoring brain waves and wondered what that was for. He was careful not to move anything out of place, afraid of damaging Bruce's train of thought accidentally.

With a final glance round, he turned back to the door, ready to leave.

"Sir," Jarvis interrupted his train of thought. "Please take a seat, Dr Banner is returning to the laboratory to speak with you. He has been hunting for Mr Rogers and asked me to let him know when you were available as he wishes to speak with you both."

Tony perked up immediately, maybe this was a good thing, maybe Bruce had found out what they needed. . . Then again, maybe he was about to tell him that Alec was his brother and that he was going to have to break it to the kid that he really shouldn't look at Max as anything other than a sister.

It was a relief when Bruce and Steve eventually appeared, stopping his wild thoughts of all the different things that he might be about to hear. Both of them looking askance at him as he let out a breath of frustration. He pulled a face and then apologized. "It's not you, it's," he waved a hand in the air, "everything! I want to fix something and I don't know where to start."

Bruce agreed sympathetically before beginning to explain what he had discovered so far. Steve was silent, but Tony could see him paying careful attention to every minute detail and he was sure that as soon as Bruce stopped speaking Steve would have questions.

Tony was relieved that it appeared that they had been right that bringing Alec away from Terminal City and giving him access to decent food and truly clean water was what his body needed to overcome the effects of his increased contamination following his accident. He sat waiting, hoping that Bruce was going to say something, anything that might shed some light on Alec's persistent hallucinations, particularly now more of the X5s were beginning to succumb to them.

"Tony, I've been talking with Jarvis. He has been monitoring Alec and has noticed a slight change in the electricity in Alec's room just prior to each hallucination. I need more information on that and I need ideas on what might be causing it."

"Changes in the electricity? How? How could Alec change the electricity?" Steve asked, bemusement clear in his voice.

"Maybe . . . maybe he doesn't. Is that what you're thinking?" Tony said in Bruce's direction.

Bruce shrugged, "What other possibility is there?"

"Jarvis, route all details of these electrical changes to me, along with a full scan of all other possible atmospheric changes. Monitor Alec's location at all times for any variations on any spectrum." Following Jarvis' affirmative agreement, he continued, "So are you thinking outside interference or Alec triggering the changes?"

"Would outside interference be possible?"

"I think what we have to consider is that Manticore was developing soldiers that the rest of the world wouldn't have believed possible, who knows what else someone has been working on?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note : **To those people who have left comments and feedback on previous chapters - thank you very much for your support.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Tony was poring over the ambient electrical data, comparing that in Alec's room to that in other rooms in the tower. He tapped at the screen, changing the filtered information to a different selection as if that would shed more light on what he wanted to know.

"Jarvis, do we have information on this same data but when Alec has been in different rooms? I want to rule out this being something location specific. Then I want to locate the source. Is Alec generating the change or is it targeting him?"

"I can gather that data, sir, but at this time there is insufficient available. Perhaps I might suggest that getting Master Alec out of his room and into more varied locations would assist in its retrieval?"

"Yes, I am sure it would. I'll get Steve on it."

"Yes sir, I'm sure that would be appropriate."

"In fact, if Bruce thinks it's okay, he could take Alec to the gym with him and Mole. I mean not to overdo it or anything, but he was running raids and stuff before the latest injury so it's probably not helping him being cooped up all the time in that room."

"An astute observation, Sir, if I might say so. I am sure that Captain Rogers would be able to think of a number of suitable activities and might even find he is in a position to assist Master Alec and Master Mole in adjusting to a position of freedom."

"Talking of freedom. I need to speak to Pepper about an idea I have that might just provide some sort of freedom for all of the Transgenics who want it . . . Can you get her on the phone for me when she finishes in her board meeting?"

# # #

"It's impressive. You've got to hand it to the guy," Mole said, "this is one impressive gym. I like it."

Steve smiled as he watched the two Transgenics explore the gym together, Mole pointing out different pieces of equipment that he seemed particularly keen on and Alec trailing after him letting his fingers glide over the changing textures and surfaces as if registering everything with more than just sight. Steve was sure that provided they kept a careful eye on Alec to make sure he didn't overdo any exercise, this would be a good thing for him, something to distract him from the dark paths his mind had a tendency to follow when he was left alone.

Alec turned suddenly to look at Steve and said, "And it's really alright for us to use this equipment?"

Steve pushed away from the wall and strolled across to join them. "Of course it's alright, providing that in your case, you follow Bruce's instructions of what's enough. None of us want to see you hurt any more than you already have been, but I'm sure we'd all agree that beginning to build up the exercise slowly would be good for you."

Alec nodded, then drifted round the room, carefully looking at each piece of equipment before trailing his fingers over the side bar of a running machine. Steve crossed to his side, guiding him up onto the conveyor and turning the machine on to a slow walk. "This button speeds it up, this one slows it down. If you want to run for a set time, you set this one to the time you want and then hit 'Go'."

Alec laid his finger on the speed button and increased the speed steadily, allowing his own footsteps to keep pace easily. Steve didn't move away and so Alec didn't increase the speed further, realizing that he was serious and he was going to be observing. Steve knew it was all he could expect for Alec to follow his instructions. He put on his best 'approving Captain' smile and gave Alec a thumbs up before tilting his head to the sparring ring as he looked at Mole who grinned and with a cheery, "Yeah, come on, let me show you how it's done!" as he jumped up to the corner and slid through between the ropes to begin bouncing on his toes, fists up and grinning expectantly.

# # #

_He watched 494; he looked better than he had in a long time of watching. Time distorted with no reference beyond what he saw through 494's eyes. His own world blended into a mix of dark and pain; a torture without end. _

_494 was no longer with the others in Terminal City, only the one 494 called Mole and strangers who were not Transgenics. Each time he had 'visited' he saw 494 being taken care of. 494 was only alone when he slept now, the others seeming to take it in turns to stay with him. Food was plentiful, the room he was in showed clear signs of affluence and luxury beyond anything either of them had known before._

_He was sick with fear. What could he possibly say when he was asked about 494's location and what he was doing? So far he had managed to answer questions, without lying and without giving any details away that might suggest any of the Transgenics' plans for Terminal City. How could he answer those questions now?_

_He felt the push behind his lower back that signaled the start of his rise from the tank, the warning that questions were about to come. A surge of fear raced through him and instead of his usual calm projection, he couldn't stop the fear transferring through his link with 494, felt as the image of himself secured in the tank, tortured and hurt left him and travelled through the psy-link to 494, saw 494 stagger for an instant, saw 494's knuckles tighten and eyes reflect his own terror at what was to come. He knew then that 494 felt his pain when the link was open and knew that he could use it to ensure he didn't have to lie._

_The pain roared through him as he surged up from the water, his own desperate cries echoing in the dark and the voice pinning him in place, stopping his futile struggle. "Is 494 dead yet?" the cold voice asked brusquely._

"_N-no, no, he's not."_

"_What? Why not?"_

"_They- they're taking care of him, trying to heal him." It was the truth, just unspecific enough for her not to know that it was not the Transgenics he was referring to. "He's in pain, he's afraid." Both true, thanks to the open link. No machine that he knew of would be able to detect this lie._

"_Is he healing? Is he going to survive?" The voice didn't attempt to conceal its disappointment at the fact that 494 hadn't already died._

"_I think he might," he replied weakly. "But he sees what he thinks is me and it makes him doubt his sanity." Another truth._

"_Hmmm, I shall consider that. It may be that we can use it to aid our aims. Without 494, the cause will falter. His death would be . . . advantageous." He could hear the smile in her voice, the eagerness and he loathed her even more. He felt as something flooded his system, knew that she was done with him for now, hoped that the drugs would relax him enough before he was submerged but knew it was a pathetic hope as he felt himself start to sink, felt the water edging up his body, every inch of skin sensitized to the encroaching water and that 494 was feeling it all too._

# # #

"If I might interrupt, sirs," Jarvis spoke over the conversation that Bruce was having with Tony about whether he should have analyzed the DNA with Alec's blood sample.

"Tony," Bruce continued, "You want them to trust you - us! You told Alec the blood test was to try and establish the extent of his illness. That's what I tested it for. No breach of trust. It doesn't matter that we could have done more, we didn't. When he's in a better position to agree, we ask again and we tell him what it's for."

"And if he says no?"

"We have to live with it. But you said he was the one who noticed the similarities between Steve and Johnny so I would imagine . . ."

"Bruce, the guy might be going out with his own sister!"

"Sirs!" Jarvis spoke even louder, "If I might interrupt!"

"We deal with it later. Right now, he's here and she's there, so it's not the most pressing issue," Bruce shrugged.

"They might have been trying to make babies!" Tony said.

"Tony . . . it's not like you to be so reticent about stating the obvious," Bruce chided calmly in the face of Tony's outrage. "The point being it's too late if they already have and right now, even Transgenics can't get one another pregnant from opposite sides of the country!"

A sudden foghorn like blast silenced both men. There was a momentary pause before Tony said, "Jarvis? Jarvis, what's happening?"

"Oh sir, how nice of you to ask," Jarvis replied, surprisingly sardonic for a computer. "I thought that you and Dr Banner might like to know that I believe Master Alec may be having another hallucination although he has said nothing to his companions and is continuing to act almost normally. Is that a possibility?"

"You could have just told us that without the ear-shattering blast!"

"I shall bear that in mind next time then, sir, and try it, shall I? Is it possible that Master Alec could conceal a hallucination?"

"And yes, yes, I think it is possible from what Max has told me, depending on what's in the hallucination and his general mental state at the time. Is he in their suite?"

"No, sir, he is in the gymnasium with Captain Rogers and Master Mole."

A quick glance at Bruce revealed that he was gathering a few of his medical items together and was ready to head with Tony down through the levels of the Tower to the gym.

# # #

Tony reached the gym first and burst in through the door, clearly expecting . . . expecting something completely different to what he found. Alec was jogging steadily on the running machine while Mole and Steve sparred in the ring. It was quiet, nothing out of the ordinary. When Bruce came in a moment or two later, Tony turned to look at him, bafflement clear on his face.

Bruce just shrugged and moved across to check on Alec more closely. "Alec?" he said as he stopped alongside the jogging Transgenic, getting no response. He looked carefully at all the little tell-tale signs and knew that there was more to the lack of answer from the young man; fists clenched until the knuckles were white, breath panting, yet he showed no signs of slowing, jaw tense, eyes fixed so firmly on the controls of the machine that Bruce was certain he wasn't seeing anything else in the room.

"Alec!" he said again louder. It didn't get the response he wanted, with Steve rather than Alec stopping to look at him. It was only Tony's sharp "Steve!" that had Mole pulling back on the punch he'd been throwing and Steve ducking narrowly out of its way. Alec hadn't blinked at all.

"Alec!" Bruce said again, voice rising further. Steve and Mole both climbed out of the ring immediately and hurried over beside the running machine. Steve leaned over to slow the machine and Mole reached out to catch as Alec, still unaware of the attempts to attract his attention, stumbled at the changing pace. Mole dragged him easily off the machine as Alec finally looked round in surprise.

Bruce took notice of how, despite taking in everyone around him with a quick glance, there was one direction that Alec kept his eyes away from. He shifted his position, standing deliberately to the side where Alec was avoiding looking but close to him. He couldn't fail to notice the way that Alec seemed to relax just a fraction when he blocked the view then tense again as he realized how many people were looking right at him.

Tony really wasn't helping by looming over him. Bruce had to admit to himself it was an impressive loom for someone barely taller than he was and most definitely shorter than Steve and Mole and even Alec himself. Tony was clearly about to start talking and combined with the ominous looming it wasn't going to end well and so without thinking, Bruce's hand shot out and covered Tony's mouth before any words could escape.

There was a grunt of objection from underneath his palm and Bruce only narrowly evaded the elbow aimed at his stomach, but he let his hand drop and gently put it against Tony's chest pushing him away. "Okay, guys, give us a little space here," he said, smiling in the hope that the others would take his lead. "Alec and I are just going to have a little chat - it's not a big deal."

Alec's eyes showed his wariness but he didn't object and he just took a step further back and leaned against the wall. Steve nodded and moved away, pulling Tony with him. Mole hovered as if undecided whether to follow the others' retreat or whether to stay and protect Alec. In the end it seemed that Bruce's typically quiet demeanor won out and convinced Mole that he could go and stand further away with Tony and Steve. Bruce was fairly sure he was supposed to be reading a warning into Mole's expression but sometimes it was hard to tell.

Alec didn't move, just leaned in what, if he hadn't been watching the young man so closely over the last few days, Bruce might have mistaken for utter nonchalance, but there was a shadow in his eyes that showed he was waiting for something to go wrong.

"Alec, are you having a hallucination now?"

Alec's gaze flittered to the spot he'd been avoiding and back, but he didn't answer.

Bruce tried again, "Alec, as your doctor, I'm trying to figure out what's happening to you and I suspect that right now you're having a hallucination and I'd like you to tell me if I'm right."

"What are you going to do to me if I am?" Alec flinched as his eyes snapped away from the spot again. Bruce stepped sideways, moving into the spot and watched as Alec took a couple of deeper steadying breaths then said, "Yeah, yeah, I am," quietly.

"Thank you. Would you come with me up to one of the labs? I'd like to run some tests that I think might shed some light on what's happening. They won't hurt you."

"I'm not afraid of pain," Alec said defensively.

"No, I know you're not, but it doesn't hurt to know what you're getting yourself into beforehand. Would you come?"

Alec nodded and pushed himself off the wall.

"Do you want Mole to come with us?" Alec shook his head in answer to the question, but Bruce noticed as his eyes flicked not to his friend but to Tony for a brief instant. "Tony wouldn't mind coming if you want someone to chatter non-stop while we're there. He might even be able to make himself useful for a change."

Alec gave another nod then headed for the door quickly with Bruce in pursuit, gesturing to Tony to join them.

"Alec!" Mole shouted before he left the room. "Where are you going?"

Alec paused and drawing himself up to his full height said, "It's fine, Big Guy. Finish your sparring, I'm just gonna go and . . . and find out what's still wrong with me. It's okay though . . . we can trust them."

Mole gave a cautious nod of acceptance for which Bruce for one was very grateful.

# # #

"So what exactly is it you want to do to me?" Alec said as they waited for the elevator to take them up to the labs.

Bruce knew that Alec was worried even if he was hiding it. He gave a friendly smile, clasped his hands together and let the fingers on his right hand coast over the back of the knuckles on his left. "Alec, I know you probably haven't had much experience with doctors and labs but . . ."

Alec laughed, the sound harsh and bitter. "I wish," he said drily, marching into the elevator as the door opened and leaning back in the corner, waiting for Tony and Bruce to make the next move.

Neither man said anything and, with a sigh, Alec let his head drop back against the wall behind him as the elevator began its ascent. "Genetic experiment, remember? Not a real person . . ." Alec said sarcastically.

Bruce put a hand out to keep Tony quiet and still, knowing his friend well enough that he would be objecting to the latter comment, but hoping that he would let Alec continue. Whatever he had to say might just shed some light on what was happening, even if Alec himself was unaware of the relevance.

Alec kicked one leg back against the wall angrily and narrowed his eyes. "You want the details? The gory, gruesome details. You want the truth about what it means to have a Transgenic under your roof, what you can really do with one?"

"Alec," Bruce said gently.

Alec just huffed out a breath and said, "Bring it on. I don't think either of you have really got it in you to match anything that's been done before. Seriously. I've been shut in a box for a week without food and water, just to see if I'll make it. I've been reindoctrinated . . ." he laughed bitterly, "more times than I can remember." He glared at Bruce and Tony as if daring them to say something.

"Reindoctrinated? Like brainwashed?" Bruce asked.

"No. Reindoctrinated - like mind-wiped and a better program put in place, but see when they're working with flawed raw materials, the program keeps corrupting and -"

He didn't get to finish before Tony shouted, "Stop it! STOP it!"

Alec and Bruce both looked surprised at his outburst. Tony took a steadying breath before he spoke again, "No! What I mean is stop talking about yourself like you're not a real person, like there's something wrong with you. You can tell us about what happened. . . I want to know what happened, but you have to understand that you are real, you matter, you're not 'just an experiment'. I won't accept that. Whatever they did or said that makes you think you have to talk about yourself like that it was wrong."

Alec looked taken aback, uncertain of what to say or do next and so he looked away. Bruce crossed to his side, laying a hand on his arm before speaking, "Alec, it's going to be okay. We'll listen and you can tell us what you can . . . it might help us figure out what's going on, but Tony's right. You're a real person. Do you think Tony isn't real because he's clever or because he's Iron Man? Do you think Steve isn't real because he's stronger and faster than the average person? Am I not real because -"

Alec didn't let him finish. "It's different," he said. "You were real people first. I wasn't."

# # #

The mood was subdued in the lab following Alec's outburst in the elevator with all three men tiptoeing around each other, each afraid of setting one of the others off on a rant. Bruce could feel his own rage burgeoning under his skin at the thought of the kind of experiments and reprogramming techniques that had been carried out on the Transgenics. He knew what the military could be capable of and the problem now was that that was all Alec really knew.

The fact that he, or any other Transgenic really, had ever agreed to put even an iota of trust into an outsider was amazing. He felt the weight of the fact that some of that trust had been given to him as both a gift and a burden.

Alec was quiet, he'd taken the seat that Bruce had directed him to, had let himself be hooked up to a computer that was now monitoring his heart rate, temperature, breathing, while Bruce debated asking to be allowed to monitor his brainwaves. So far he'd watched warily as each device was attached. Alec hadn't flinched once, but Bruce had seen as his jaw tensed or his breathing shortened and presumed that he'd had similar looking devices attached in the past, but that rather than being used to just take measurements, they'd been used to inflict pain. He let the time tick by, let Alec's breathing drop back to steady before contemplating adding anything further.

Tony was fiddling with the computer readouts, but judging by the tense set of his expression, he was expending more energy keeping his own anger at bay. Bruce imagined some of that anger would be directed at his father and considered himself lucky that he never had taken that offer of a job at Manticore.

"What is it you really want to test?" Alec asked suddenly. "I mean, this isn't it, right?"

"Brainwaves," Bruce answered before he could stop himself, regretting it immediately when Alec did flinch away.

Alec stopped himself, held still and said reluctantly, "How?"

Tony's chair scrapped back over the floor as he rounded the counter to stand in front of Alec. "He'll do it to me first to show you, so you can watch and see that it won't hurt."

Alec shrugged and shook his head defiantly, as if the suggestion that he needed to be shown something first was ridiculous, "No need. Just do whatever you need to do."

"Alec, you don't have to just agree to this," Tony insisted. "You have the right to object, you have the right to an opinion."

"Just get on with it," came the weary reply.

Bruce felt torn between wanting to refuse because he felt Alec wasn't really making a considered decision but rather subjecting himself to something because he thought he had to and wanting to just do it in the desperate hope that he would find an answer. He went with hoping to find an answer. Opening a drawer, he lifted out a large pile of electrodes. "There was a time when you'd have needed a buzz-cut for this but -" he was smiling as he spoke, not expecting Alec to slip off the stool he'd been sitting on and back away, whispering, "No."

"Alec?"

"You can't buzz-cut my hair!" he warned. "Max -"

"Max would forgive you getting it cut if it was going to mean you getting better, don't worry," Tony said surprised.

"I can't. You can't! It - it -" he seemed reluctant to finish the explanation.

"Alec, we don't need to cut your hair at all," Bruce explained, rambling on quietly as he explained what he was doing as he began to fix the electrodes to Alec's scalp. "Come, sit down, let me set you up. Now these were originally based on the idea of an EEG, but it's far more advanced. It was something I'd been working on to use on myself, so all the tests so far have been on me. What I can tell you is the only pain is if it tugs out any of your hairs by accident - but as you can see by my own head, you're not going to lose too many. Now these are good, better than you'd get in top of the range hospitals at the moment. They give much more detail and can determine data from much deeper into the brain. They're designed to give the information one would traditionally get from both an EEG and something like what you would get from an fMRI, so it's far superior to -" Bruce stopped short, brushing aside the hair on the back of Alec's head to get a closer look at what he'd just seen a brief glimpse of.

Alec must have realized what he was looking at and pulled away sharply, slapping his own hand on the back of his neck and moving away out of reach.

"Alec, I'm sorry . . . I didn't know. . ." Bruce tried to explain.

Tony looked round from where he'd been setting up the computer interface. His expression was quizzical as he said, "What didn't you know?"

Bruce contemplated briefly what to say and decided telling the truth and acting as if it wasn't a horrifying concept would probably be the best thing for Alec's welfare. "Alec has a barcode on the back of his neck," he said simply.

"Barcode?" Tony paused clearly thinking something through. "When we first met, you asked where Steve's barcode was . . . You all have barcodes?"

Alec shrugged and looked away.

Pushing closer, past Bruce, Tony said, "Let me see. I can probably remove it for you, if that's what you want."

"No, you can't. You wanted proof we're not real people. There it is," Alec spun round angrily and showed his barcode. "Things that are bought, sold and traded have barcodes!" he snapped.

"All the more reason for us to find a way to remove it for you."

"It won't work, believe me. Max and I tried . . . for months we would break into places and remove each other's with a laser but give it a week or two and it would be back."

"We'll try and come up with something," Tony said simply. "We don't just give up because the first thing doesn't work, we use it to collect data, draw conclusions and come up with a revised plan. So why don't we get back to what we were doing which was trying to figure out where these hallucinations are coming from?"

Bruce felt a sudden surge of heartache, when he saw the effort it took for Alec to walk back and take his seat again and the wary hope in his eyes that he and Tony would actually be able to come up with some sort of solution.

# # #

Steve and Mole were both slumped on a bench at the side of the gym, sipping water as they got their breath back. "Thanks for that," Steve gasped, "It's been a while since I've been able to just let loose like that without having to worry that I might hurt my sparring partner unintentionally. Thor's been back in Asgard for quite some time now."

"Who's Thor? Where's Asgard?" Mole muttered. "Never heard of them."

"Oh, erm, well," Steve mumbled, "He's an Avenger, but he came from another planet." He began to explain what he knew of Thor's first visit to Earth and how they came together as the Avengers to fight an invasion of aliens led by Thor's adoptive brother, Loki.

"Wow, and I thought we had problems!" Mole snorted. "Still, things seem to be different on this side of the country anyway."

"Yes, they kind of do . . . I was surprised when we came to Seattle, not just by your conditions but by those of the people who are living free there. It's a long way behind what you see here."

"I can't imagine anywhere being quite like this," Mole said, waving a hand at their surroundings.

"Oh, I agree, but even outside, things are different here. I mean Tony's made this place into something amazing, but the rest of the city, without Tony, is pretty advanced too. There aren't the lines for gas, for food, hospitals are clean and efficient, the streets are mostly clear, everyone has electricity and clean water. I mean sure there are run down areas, areas where poverty is a real issue but it still doesn't seem as bad as what we saw in Seattle. I mean in some respects what you'd managed to achieve in parts of Terminal City was amazing, you could soon be approaching the same standard as the city outside, apart from the lack of freedom and resources. It's unbelievable how much you'd achieved with so little. I just wish you hadn't had to."

"What? You'd rather still have us locked inside Manticore?"

"No! Heavens, no! That's not what I meant at all. If it weren't for the fact that it's responsible for some amazing people being born, I wish it had never existed. I certainly wish it had never been allowed to have those people in its care. It didn't deserve them."

"Easy to say that now, not every one of us is housebroken you know."

"Is that what you think the rest of us think of you?"

"Seriously? Most of the time I've got enough problems of my own not to have the time or energy to worry about what anybody else is thinking, but it can be pretty hard to ignore the hardliners camping outside the fences that surround Terminal City shouting obscenities. In some respects I think the whole thing is hardest on the X5s and X6s. They're the ones who could pass for human. It's not like I'll ever blend in, it's not like I ever had to. Alec . . . Alec had it tough, not just him but the rest of his original unit too. Not many of them are still alive. You remember Max?"

When Steve said he did, Mole began to tell him the tale of the escape of Max's unit. Steve was surprised, amazed that a group so young could organize their escape and survive alone outside. Mole admitted that he didn't know much about what had happened to them after they left, although he'd heard from Joshua and Alec stories of a few of her unit mates. He went on to explain what had happened to the other units to make sure that Manticore would never see a repeat of that escape. A life that had been cruel and hard before became even worse.

"Alec's original unit suffered the most. They were made up entirely of clones of Max's unit. Every X5 underwent psychological evaluation afterwards, but for Alec's unit, they were kept in almost complete isolation for six months with continual tests and evaluations. When they weren't being tested they were locked in individual cages in the basements between some of the earlier experiments, some of the ones that didn't really 'work'. You might look at me and think I didn't come out like they intended, but I more or less did. I guess they'd have like me to blend in a bit more, but in reality I was supposed to be a 'desert warfare model'. Guess I pretty much fit the bill. But yeah, Psy-Ops had free reign to toy with them for months and when they finally sent them back, they were split between other ever-changing units. Every time they were sent on a mission they were hauled in for evaluation and those who were in Alec's original unit always got double the work done on them." Steve was surprised not only at what he was hearing but also that Mole sounded so regretful. He figured it was a sure sign of just how awful that treatment must have been. Mole continued to talk, "Then Alec was sent on his first solo mission. He was doing really well until . . . until they told him to kill the mark's daughter as well as the mark. He couldn't do it, couldn't kill what he saw as an innocent. . . Joshua and I didn't think he'd make it back after the way they took him apart after that fiasco, but bit by bit he pieced himself back together and then they reprogrammed him again, trying to eradicate any memory of what had happened. The Psy-ops X5s know the inside of his head better than he does but Alec, he's stronger than he looks. He'll get through this; he will. I guess it's a case of he's the only one who doesn't really know how often he's done it before."

"How often?"

"Alec has too much heart for a Manticore operative. There's too much goodness in him. He's like Joshua in that respect, except he tries to hide it. Joshua was never a soldier, so nobody ever tried to take it away from him. Alec has spent his whole life warring between his gut instinct and what he was trained to be, programmed to be. His heart wins out eventually every time and every time he pays for it. Sometimes I wonder if that's what was wrong with his twin."

"He had a twin?"

"Most of them do. His twin in Max's unit lost it, started murdering people, supposedly in the name of some goddess or other. I dunno much about him, apart from the trouble it caused at Manticore when they realized what was happening. Little bastard couldn't even keep his trouble to himself. He tattooed his barcode on to the victims like a calling card. What did they do? They pulled in Alec, tried to pick through what passes for brains in an X like him, tested out all their theories on what might have broken his brother. They left him in the cell beside me, the guy on the other side was . . . mindless, hated anyone who looked even vaguely human and Alec couldn't have defended himself at all the way they left him. Joshua and I sat with him for weeks, but he doesn't remember any of it."

"He doesn't?"

"As far as Alec is concerned he met me in Terminal City for the first time and Joshua when they helped Max escape again." Mole's eyes hardened as he warned, "Don't you tell him any different!"

"Why wouldn't you want him to know?"

"Because unlike most of the X5s I actually do like him. He's decent and he's like it naturally. He manages to push himself past everything that was done to them all to make them fear us and he fights for us and treats us fairly, because he thinks we deserve it, not because he thinks he owes us anything. And anyway, he doesn't need to be trying to remember what he's been through in the past. He's got a new start."

"But surely it would make your friendship stronger. I mean you've come all this way with him, that must show that . . ."

"I'm a bodyguard. I'm strong. I'm suspicious and I don't go down without a fight. I'm also expendable and less essential to the 'good fight' back home. Plus it's a lot harder to 'sell' me than the pretty X5s."

"Nobody wants to sell you!" Steve objected.

"Like I said, I'm naturally suspicious."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Max put the TV on as much for company and a distraction from her thoughts as anything else. There'd been nothing in the news about The Avengers in the last few days since Alec had gone. Nothing about the Nightwalker in Seattle either she noted half-heartedly either. Maybe all the superheroes were on a break. She hadn't even seen anything about the Fantastic Four. She had to admit to being curious about the Invisible Woman.

Tony had said they weren't clones when Alec had talked about it but she wondered if he really knew. In some respects she was inclined to believe him, but in others . . . the similarity was too marked to not have some sort of cause, but they were too old to be X series. She shoved the circular thoughts away; it hadn't done Alec's state of mind any good to be fixated on it, so she was pretty certain it wasn't going to do her any either.

The apartment was quiet without Alec, particularly when Joshua was out. It was strange she'd lived on her own since moving to Terminal City and at first it hadn't bothered her. In fact, it hadn't bothered her at all until she'd began to see Alec in a different light and then she had wanted to spend more time with him, growing to like his company, his intelligence and wit, despite how much it had been lacking of late. Most of all she liked the fact that underneath the smart alec exterior, he had more depth, more heart. In honesty, she knew now that Alec wasn't the bad guy she'd thought for so long and he wasn't Ben either.

She was tempted to go and get the tablet and see if she could get through to either Tony or Alec. She wasn't sure whether Alec would always have access to the tablet or whether Tony would keep it with him. She looked at her watch, realizing the latening hour meant that it would be approaching midnight in New York, too late for her to risk wakening anyone there when all she wanted was company.

She missed nights at Crash, time with OC. Right now she was lonely enough to miss Sketchy.

A sound at the door downstairs had her sitting upright, easing back into her seat again only when she recognized it as Joshua. He plodded heavily up the stairs and she smiled at the familiar sound. Joshua wasn't the most light footed amongst them, but at times like this it was surprisingly reassuring.

"Hey, Little Fella," Joshua greeted from the doorway. "How's things?"

"Okay. Everything was fine today at the Command Center, but quiet without Mole or Alec. Thankfully we haven't had any trouble since they've been gone."

"Adam and others better?"

"They're doing okay, but I think they're finding it hard to ignore the hallucinations. I'm not sure how Alec has managed for so long."

"Alec strong, determined to be good. Alec is good. Good in his heart."

"Yeah, I guess so. I miss him though, I wish he could be here. What on earth was he doing to end up in the tunnels like that and who had he been fighting with?"

Joshua shifted, looking round the room as if to avoid Max's gaze, inadvertently making her more suspicious in his attempt to avoid her asking him anything more.

"Joshua?" she pressed gently. "Joshua, what do you know about Alec getting injured?"

"Joshua doesn't know anything. Alec didn't say anything," Joshua asserted strongly.

Max frowned then said, carefully, "What do you _think_ happened to Alec?"

He fidgeted awkwardly before sighing and saying defensively, "Joshua doesn't know anything. Joshua thinks Alec goes outside on his own, looking and helping people. Joshua thinks Alec is Nightwalker on television."

"Nightwalker!" she exclaimed, "What do you mean?"

"Alec goes out late at night sometimes. Next day television shows Nightwalker. Joshua thinks maybe it is a pattern. Alec wants people to like him, think he's good. Alec wants to help people. Nightwalker tries to do good things, tries to make Seattle better and safer. That's a good job for Alec. Then Alec get hurt. Alec go to New York and now no more Nightwalker."

"I . . ." Max wasn't really sure what to say. "I don't . . . he goes out on all the nights before Nightwalker is on TV. . . He always gets so angry when they -" She cut herself off, trying to remember what exactly Alec had got angry about in those reports. "He's the Nightwalker!" She shook her head, still not quite believing the conclusion that she'd come to but the more thought she gave it, she was not surprised that Joshua was pushing her in that direction because there was too much of a convincing argument for it being the truth.

# # #

Steve checked with Jarvis so he knew that Tony hadn't gone to bed like he'd claimed he was about to do earlier in the evening. Steve had thought it unlikely even then. He took the stairs down to the workshop and wasn't surprised when he could hear the thud, thud of the bass line of Tony's music through the closed doors. He pushed the door open and slipped into the room.

Jarvis lowered the music and Steve called a greeting to Tony as soon as he stood any chance of being heard. Tony looked up, gave a half-hearted wave with an electronic screwdriver before leaning back over the project he was working on. "With you in a minute, Cap. Just need to get this . . ." There was a pause which filled with an electronic whirring noise as Tony screwed something into position. As the whirring stopped Tony finished his sentence, "To stay where I want it." He huffed out a breath of frustration and wiggled at the pieces before picking up another screw, setting it in place and then screwing it in.

"At last!" he said as he finally stood back, seemingly relieved that whatever he'd been working on was going to stay as he wanted it, at least in the short term. He glanced at the time on a neighboring screen and then frowned at Steve. "Is everything okay? Isn't this past a geriatric's bedtime?"

Steve pulled a face at him. "Oh haha, very funny. You know at some point all of these ageist jokes are going to get 'old' even for you!"

Tony grinned. "So what can I do for you then, Capsicle?"

"I thought maybe we could talk about Alec . . . and the Transgenics? Share notes as it were."

Tony flopped back onto the stool behind him, reaching out to knock the closest spare one in Steve's direction. "Yeah, we should probably do that."

The two of them began to talk, Steve picking his words carefully as he retold the stories Mole had told him earlier in the day. It hurt to know that Howard and Franklin Storm had been involved in any way; that money or curiosity had allowed either of them to put their better judgment aside and assist the other Manticore scientific and military personnel in developing the technology and the understanding to play with DNA to such an extent and in such a horrific way.

Tony had paled although Steve hadn't told him the full details from the earlier discussion, glossing over some of the more horrific tales that Mole had shared, but he knew Tony wasn't stupid and would be well aware that he was not telling everything he knew.

Finally Tony began to talk, telling of his own findings from the day. He explained how they'd found a tattoo on the back of Alec's neck and how when he'd run a scanner over it, it had detected something more than just a tattoo although as yet he hadn't been able to work out what exactly that was. He also described to Steve how he and Bruce had been able to detect a signal coming in to the Tower and that while again they hadn't fully got to the bottom of it, they did know that it was directing Alec's hallucinations.

"Can you block it?" Steve asked.

"Probably yes or at least while he's here . . . but Alec is worried by it. He said it has changed, that he's seeing something different. He thinks it's his clone, Ben he called him. When the hallucinations started he saw Ben and he was taunting him, trying to goad him into hurting people and doing things that he knew would be bad for either himself or the people round him. Now it's different, he thinks he's seeing what's really happened and he thinks this Ben is being held in some kind of submersion tank and connected to machinery and that he's being forced into making these connections and trying to get Alec to hurt other people or himself."

"His brother is dead," Steve said quietly. "He . . . he was out of control and had to be killed to make him stop."

"Yeah, Alec said that's what he thought," Tony agreed, but then continued, "Look, I'm trying to think not like us and not like a Transgenic. I'm trying to imagine being one of those scientists at Manticore way back then. This Ben was killed in a wood because it was the only way to stop him being taken back to Manticore and re-indoctrinated and used to kill again, right? He was killed moments before Manticore caught up to them. Supposing they managed to revive him and they took him back and are using him?"

Steve looked horrified.

"Another possibility is that it isn't Ben, it's someone else projecting an image of him."

"Mole was telling me they had something called Psy-Ops . . . I guess that could be the technology they were using?"

The door opened behind them and Bruce came in. "Thought I might find the two of you here," he greeted. "I have some 'good' news . . . Alec agreed to let me test his DNA. I told him that I could use it to detect which of them were actually related which might help them in terms of creating family units and so on. He said that he would try and talk others into letting me test theirs as well."

"Wow!" said Steve. "I can't believe how much trust he's been willing to give us. Mole said he had a lot of heart and a lot of goodness in him and he's so right."

"Did you test it?" Tony asked warily.

"I did and he's not related to either of you," Bruce said simply.

"Thank goodness for that, because I figure that means he's safe with Max," Tony said with blatant relief.

"Actually talking to him, I figured we were fairly safe on that score because Manticore had a breeding program for a while and he and Max were deemed ideally compatible. I doubt they would have wanted the kind of risk that comes with being too genetically similar, not when they were trying to breed even stronger and more reliable soldiers. It creates too many difficulties, too much likelihood of the wrong traits becoming dominant."

"A breeding program? That's . . ." Steve's nose wrinkled in disgust.

"That's pretty much what he said, although he covered it up with some comment about liking sex and being willing, which I think might have been more bravado than anything. Not that he wouldn't like the sex but the need to tell me, I'm assuming what he meant was that he preferred to choose his own partners and wanted them to be with him by choice not because they were more frightened of the repercussions if they didn't do as they were told."

Tony was quiet and Steve and Bruce both looked at him worriedly, knowing that he was still struggling to deal with his father's part in everything that happened and that he was taking all the bad things to heart as if it was his own fault. He suddenly stood up and reached for his cellphone. "I need to talk to Pepper," he said hurriedly, already rushing from the room before either of them could stop him.

"He's not dealing with this very well. It's as if he's taking all the blame onto himself," Steve sighed.

"I think we just have to keep subtly reminding him it was Howard's mistake to get involved with Manticore, not his, and to keep supporting him in his efforts to set everything to rights. It can't be easy for him . . . or you, knowing that Howard gave them your DNA to use."

"We don't know that yet, all we know is he gave it to Franklin Storm and that Johnny is related to me and that . . . that I can live with. The rest I'll deal with if it becomes necessary," Steve replied firmly, refusing to be drawn any further.

# # #

"Alec," Tony was talking before he'd even entered the room. "Alec, we need to talk because I've changed my mind and I've got a better proposition and so we're not going with the first plan if you think the second one will work and then we just need to figure out how to make it work for everyone and quickly and then we can get things moving and fixed and sorted and I've already got Pepper on the case and she's narrowing down possibilities so we could be talking mere weeks and then it's just logistics really."

Alec stood looking at Tony, astonishment clear as he waited for Tony to take a breath and then actually explain what he was talking about. When Tony just looked at him like he was waiting for an answer, Alec scrunched his face up and then said, "I don't really know what we're talking about."

Tony looked for an instant like he was about to snap back a retort but then he paused, looked almost as if he was replaying the conversation in his memory before coming to the conclusion that there was no way Alec could have followed what he was saying. "Ooops," he said sheepishly. "Sorry. I've got a better idea than us developing technology to clean up Terminal City. I think we start over somewhere completely new and already clean."

Alec looked at him blandly for a moment and when Tony just looked back at him, he said sarcastically, "Great idea, I think we should all move down to the coast and spend the rest of lives sunning ourselves by the sea."

"Really? The coast? Shit! I hadn't thought of anywhere by the coast. . . I'll have to get back on the phone to Pepper; none of the suggestions were that close to the coast."

Alec looked at him in amazement, before faltering and saying, "I was trying to be sarcastic." The tone of guilt in his voice was clear.

"You were? Oh, um . . . I wasn't . . . before I mean. I meant it really." Tony's expression reflected the genuine and sincere tone of his words and Alec looked abashed at having retorted so quickly. "I guess I didn't really explain what I meant," Tony added. "People get used to me . . . they tell me when I skip too many steps and they can't keep up."

Alec looked at him and smirked, "You skipped too many steps, I can't keep up!"

Tony laughed briefly and retorted with "And there I was thinking you were supposed to be some kind of super being. . . Huh! That's kind of a let down. I had all these high expectations and what do I get?"

"What can I say?" Alec replied drily, "Pretty packaging doesn't always hide the best things inside."

"You're not so bad. Shall we start over and try this conversation again?"

"Hey Tony, good to see you. What have you been doing?" Alec smiled.

Tony responded in kind, "It's good to see you up on your feet. You have time for a chat? I have some ideas that could possibly be better for the Transgenics than us trying to build those filtering systems to help clean up Terminal City."

"You have? I'd like to hear about them." There was a play-acting tone to their words that belied the seriousness of what they were moving towards.

The two men moved to sit down at a table and Tony laid out a map and some plans alongside. He started with the map first and began to explain. "In Terminal City, you're always going to be cut off. It's going to be years even with the filtration systems in place before you'd really be able to grow anything and so you're always going to be taking that risk of sneaking out to bring stuff in, even if I could figure out a way to get you a regular supply in place so you didn't have to steal. And while you're in there, there is very little that you can do. Sooner or later, I think the military are going to storm it to get you out."

Alec blanched at the thought, but Tony continued talking, "Seattle is in a bad way. There are other areas of the country which have recovered and rebuilt their infrastructure since the Pulse; areas where they accept so called 'superheroes' so why shouldn't they accept Transgenics? Particularly if we can prove there's no threat. I've had Pepper looking at certain details and thanks to her, I've got a couple of suggestions. Well, really it's one suggestion but a couple of possible locations."

Alec indicated he was willing to listen.

"Stark Industries is involved in Research and Development. We own various properties all over the country and use them for different aspects of our work. It would not be out of the bounds of possibility for us to buy a new substantial sized property in a remote area and to set up a 'facility' there. The facility would be secure; the people inside would be free to come and go as they please, but strangers would not have access. Realistically I can't change the world. I can't make it easy for people like Mole to have freedom to walk the streets without being picked up by soldiers eventually, but I can provide people like him with a safe refuge in which they can live and work. My suggestion is this : Stark Industries buys a property and it is set up as some sort of development site with accommodation for as many Transgenics as want to live there. Those Transgenics who choose to live there are then free to work for Stark Industries on that site and we'll figure out what jobs we can create there to cater for as many people as possible. Stark Industries will pay them a wage. We can discuss details later, but we'll figure out a workable amount. That money can then be spent on making the lives that you want on that site. Some of the Xs, like yourself and Max, could blend in, in nearby communities if you wanted. Bruce and I will try to figure something out about the barcodes so they're permanently gone or at least concealed. Those who could move freely would be able to take on jobs either of their choice outside, or maybe, for Stark Industries, bringing whatever we figure out for the Transgenics to make down to our other facilities and would be paid for that. As far as the outside world is concerned, it's just a Stark Industries' site - no one needs to know who runs it. As far as the Transgenics are concerned, apart from whatever factory or laboratory facility we set up to 'produce' something, the land is theirs to do with as they will. But it will be clean land with opportunities for farming and becoming self-sufficient. No one will work on site who isn't approved by the Transgenics, so there'll be no need for outsiders to ever see what goes on there or who lives there. No need for the military to know that's where everybody went."

"I'm not signing Transgenics up for a life of servitude, or of experimentation and lab testing!" Alec couldn't keep the horror out of his voice.

Tony looked equally horrified. "NO! No, that's not what I meant by research! I mean like . . . like we've been developing the idea for that filtration system . . . something like that and then the Transgenics make it, test it to the point of destruction, find the faults, we redesign it and try again and then once we've got something that works, it comes back to a main Stark branch for manufacture and sale. Or maybe it gets manufactured by the Transgenics and then we just ship it out to sell it. But Transgenics choose what to manufacture . . . I mean within reason - it's got to be something we can sell obviously and they get paid for working. Others can live there and their jobs can be to look after the site, or to do stuff for their community or . . ."

"Why? Why would you want your company to do something like that for us?"

"Because I can't make the government or the Military give the Transgenics what they owe them. It's the nearest, next best option."

"I still don't see what's in it for you."

# # #

Steve was concerned. He hadn't been able to find Tony since his sudden departure from the workshop when the two of them had been talking with Bruce the previous day. When he'd asked Jarvis, the AI had informed him that Tony had gone almost directly to speak with Alec and after that conversation had informed Jarvis that no information was to be shared as to his whereabouts with anyone.

"Do you know where he is, Jarvis?" Steve asked.

"Yes, Sir. He is within a building of which I have more than sufficient observation opportunities to be able to place him at any time."

Steve pondered that for a few moments, then said cautiously, "Jarvis, hypothetically speaking, if I were to ask you certain questions, that might, hypothetically, lead me to being able to make a deduction as to Tony's whereabouts, would you hypothetically speaking be able to answer me?"

"Hypothetically speaking sir, if you were to hypothetically ask me questions that might lead you to be able to make a deduction that would not be against my programming. Was there a question that you hypothetically wished to ask me?"

Steve ran mentally through a list of properties that he knew Tony owned and then said, "Has Tony decided to go somewhere one might spend time on a beach?"

"No, Sir, Mr Stark has not travelled anywhere closer to the beach than if he were to stay in this very building."

"Hypothetically would Tony spend a time like this attending to business matters for Stark Industries?"

"A time like this would be a good opportunity for Mr Stark to work on his latest project, although he might also spend time attending to matters brought to his attention either by Ms Potts or in conversation with her. Given that his latest project was both relevant to the current 'Seattle' situation and required Ms Potts' support in terms of what was needed from Stark Industries for him to be able to bring such an idea to fruition, he has been in contact with Ms Potts via the telephone, Sir. Ms Potts also provides Mr Stark with a level-head and a level of understanding of social interaction that Mr Stark is sometimes wont to miss when left to his own devices."

"So he hasn't actually been with Pepper in person?"

"No, Sir, he has not been travelling at all."

Steve frowned for a moment and then said, "Hypothetically speaking, if Tony wanted to stay here in this building and not be located, would that be possible?"

"Hypothetically speaking, if anyone were to remain within the building and use an area currently set aside for guest use, it would be possible to remain out of direct sight of the rest of the current inhabitants of the building. Similarly if one were to use the guest quarters in one of the absent members of the household's areas of the building."

"So . . ." Steve reasoned carefully, "if Tony or anyone of us really were to say, go to Thor's floor and use the guest quarters, no one else would be looking there for him."

"That would be the case, Sir, however, if I might take the liberty of informing you that Master Thor's floor is currently unoccupied."

"So that leaves Clint's floor and Natasha's . . . and if Tony is trying to stay out of sight, the last place anyone would look for him would be . . . Natasha's quarters?"

"May I compliment you, Sir, on your ability to deduce accurate information?"

Steve laughed, then said, "Guess we both know where I'm going now then."

# # #

Steve opened the door to Natasha's apartment cautiously. However much he was absolutely certain that Natasha was not only not home, she wasn't even on the continent at the moment, he still felt bad going into her apartment without an invitation. Despite that he didn't want to court more trouble by contacting her to ask if he could look for Tony there, when that would just throw up more questions and more controversy at Tony choosing there to hide.

Of them all, Natasha was the one who would seriously object to Tony invading her personal space without prior permission, even if Tony did in fact own the whole building and loaned them their respective apartments free of charge. Steve knew that Tony was more than aware of that, so it begged the question, apart from the obvious 'it was the last place anyone would look for him', why would Tony hide out in Natasha's apartment?

He walked carefully in, ensuring he didn't touch or move anything and headed straight for where the unused guest quarters in his own apartment were, hoping that Natasha's was laid out in the same way. He should have asked Jarvis beforehand, it was too late now to ask in case Tony overheard the conversation and realized that Jarvis had 'judiciously' helped Steve locate him.

The door to the guest quarters was open and Steve stopped in the doorway and looked in at Tony who was still oblivious to his arrival. Tony looked simultaneously exhausted and dejected as if whatever he was working on wasn't coming together in the way he hoped.

The only way was forward, Steve reminded himself and with that he said, "Tony?" It would almost have been amusing the way Tony positively leaped with shock, if he didn't look quite so upset. "Tony, what's the matter?" Steve asked, dropping his voice to a much more supportive tone.

Seeming to regain his composure just a fraction, Tony said, "Do I remind you of my father?"

The answer had to be no, whether it was true or not. Over the time he'd known Tony, Steve had come to understand just a little of the man's need to be nothing like his father. More important was the need to work out why was he asking now. What had happened to prompt his hiding in Natasha's apartment and what exactly did it have to do with his father? Steve knew he was walking on treacherous ground as he answered. "No, of course you don't remind me of him. Why do you ask?"

"I remind Alec of him," Tony retorted bluntly.

"I doubt that somehow, Alec's not old enough to have known your father personally," Steve tried to keep all signs of reproach out of his voice. Clearly something Alec had said or done was sitting badly with Tony and Steve doubted very much it was meant to hurt Tony in the way it clearly had.

"I told him I wanted to move all of the Transgenics somewhere better where they could live and work and everything would be better than it was in Terminal City and he thinks I want to enslave them and experiment on them all." Tony seemed to shudder, a thought Steve could well understand.

Steve waited for a moment to see if Tony would add any more that would shed any light on the situation. When he didn't, Steve knew he was going to have to edge his way carefully around the conversation and try to glean any extra information as he went along. "Tony, remember how we talked about Alec and the other Transgenics having trust issues? So far they've been treated pretty shoddily."

Tony interrupted, "Not by us!"

"No, not by us, but we are a minority. You know that saying about if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. From his point of view you have offered and given him a lot, so far for nothing. He doesn't know how good a man you are and that you don't expect anything in return."

"Well . . ." Tony looked down at his hands. "It was too big a deal, I couldn't just write it off and to make sure it would have been safe enough, there would have been all sorts of security issues that needed to be overcome, so I wasn't exactly offering something for nothing. . ."

"Tell me your idea, all the details," Steve requested.

"I offered them land in Stark Industries' name in a remote location where they could set up a community. I would provide the infrastructure and they could organize construction of some of Stark Industries' new products. Everyone who wanted to could work for the company and be paid. Others who wanted to could live there and be community leaders or work on farming or something like that. I said I'd make sure the land was big enough for them to be as self-sufficient in terms of food as possible. Some of the higher X series, the human looking ones, could work for the company as 'delivery drivers' transporting goods they'd manufactured to where we needed them and bringing in supplies that they needed from outside. I said there wasn't much I could do to make Transhumans be more acceptable in society in the short term, but if they wanted me to speak out I would, otherwise they could live in peace and no one needed to know any of the details of who Stark Industries was employing beyond the identities we create for them so that everything looks legal. If they'd been paying taxes, then maybe one day we could use that as more evidence that they deserve better treatment."

"It's an amazing idea. Could Stark Industries really do that?"

Tony nodded, "I've had Pepper looking into what we would need to do and sites we could use . . . there would be some technical issues that we needed to deal with and we'd need to figure out which of the new lines they would have the skills to manufacture. That way fewer questions are asked because we're not overlapping with anything that's happening elsewhere in the country."

"I understand. Tony, it really sounds brilliant and I don't think Alec would have meant anything by whatever he said beyond finding it hard to believe that you could do something like that for him. My suggestion would be that you give him another day maybe and then we talk to him together. Maybe Pepper could join us too? We show him plans, details and logistics of how it could work. We get his input as to what skills the Transgenics would already have and what they would need to set up this sort of community. Don't present him with a plan of what 'will happen' but rather a list of suggestions and see how if given one opportunity what he would do with it, how they would turn it to their own advantage."

# # #

The first explosion near the main gate between Terminal City and the rest of Seattle was a surprise. Not that it was really a gate in the normal sense of the word, after all it wasn't like anyone was using it to come and go.

It had caused mayhem inside Terminal City with people terrified that it was going to be a concerted effort to bring down the barricades and hunt them all down. It caused uproar outside, with vicious crowds shouting their hatred of the Transgenics inside.

Max, Adam, Joshua and Luke were at a loss. There was nothing they could do to stop the hatred outside their gates or the fear inside at the overshadowing threat that loomed at the gates. Max was even more concerned about the safety of any groups raiding outside the confines of the compound but well aware that without the raids, the supplies inside were going to run dry very fast.

She wished for Alec and Mole to return, not that she expected either of them to have any better answers, but the moral support, the sense of all being in it together was what she missed most. She was also worried about their safety outside. Logic told her they were no less safe than everyone inside really.

She hoped for once that the trust her heart had told her to put in Tony and Steve was accurate and that in actual fact the two of them were the safest of them all.

# # #

Steve asked Jarvis to discreetly block access to some of the news channels on the TV to Alec and Mole's quarters. He knew if they happened to see the right program at the right time, they would still find out about the events in Terminal City, but given the number of hallucinations Alec had been having in the last few days and the pain and distress they seemed to be causing him, Steve figured this latest bad news on constant replay as it was on some of the channels would be the last thing he would need.

In fact, Alec had been so ill as a result of the hallucinations that even Tony hadn't wanted to try and press for another discussion of his alternative plans. The problem was that with the events playing out in Seattle, Tony's plan became even more important, more of an essential rather than just a viable option.

It wasn't clear quite what was going on with the hallucinations, but they had distinctly changed. The sensation Alec had had at first of the hallucination of his brother being real and that he was in pain and trouble had intensified, with Alec actually seeming to share some of the pain via the link. And link there definitely was. Jarvis had now built into his system a guard that recognized when the small surge that preceded each hallucination happened and then he would immediately alert Steve and Mole. Steve had talked Tony into not reacting by rushing to Alec each time it happened as he tended to be unable to hide his concern and it manifested itself as sharp words and sudden changes in his mood. Steve understood that it was all because the problem was one he didn't know how to fix, but for Alec, the extra stimulation of anger on top of everything else was more than he needed.

Bruce, Steve and Mole were able to keep calm and matter of fact even when their own worry matched that of Tony. Mole didn't change, still teasing and chiding Alec for being a pain in his ass, while Steve and Bruce just tried to keep him in touch with reality for as long as the hallucination lasted.

Tony, at Steve's suggestion, was working with Jarvis on trying to find the source of the problem, trying to locate Alec's brother. Something that was proving far from easy to do.

* * *

**Author's Note** : The story is moving into its final stages with only three more chapters and an epilogue to go. Just so you know that the end is in sight!


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Unexpected breakthroughs came thick and fast when they were really needed. The situation in Terminal City was making Tony into a nervous wreck and had Sue and Johnny Storm banging on the door of the Tower demanding to know what was being done for the Transgenics.

It was a little thing but it made all the difference. Finding out that someone else, other than a fellow Avenger, felt the same way about the situation as they did reassured Tony and Steve's sense of doing the right thing and gave them the morale boost they both needed.

On finding out that they had two Transgenics in the building, it was Johnny who wanted to get to know them and so he was the one to demand to be told where they were and then to insist on being allowed to join them in the gym. Steve agreed to walk him down and on the way made a single request that for the moment Johnny didn't try to explain Franklin Storm's or even more importantly Howard Stark's role in Manticore.

Johnny frowned then turned to face Steve and said, "I thought better of you, I didn't think you'd want the lies! Don't these people deserve to be treated with respect and told the truth?"

Steve sighed and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck as if trying to squeeze out the tension. "Johnny," he said, stopping walking. "Johnny, we intended telling them, but Alec has been ill; trust me he's seriously ill and trust is an issue anyway. We intend telling them, but not when they're so alone and vulnerable and when we can't prove that we're trustworthy. You're here because you saw what's happening to them on the TV; we're trying to offer them a way out of that. If they knew that Howard, the father of the man who wants to get them out of there was involved in the conception of the place in some way, do you think they would be able to trust Tony? For the minute, we will give them what they need and the truth will have to come later when we've got them safe."

Steve could see Johnny's reluctance but also his grudging agreement to go against his better judgment. Alec, Mole and Johnny hit it off surprisingly well; Johnny being willing to snark contentedly with Mole and to jump in to defend Alec when it seemed the Transgenic was floundering. Steve kept a close eye on Alec, worried by the slower pace he was setting himself, although relieved that he hadn't gone full out to try and exhaust himself. There was a tautness to his posture that spoke of someone waiting for something to happen. Steve supposed that was to be expected with the increasing frequency of the hallucinations. He wondered how the other Transgenics were managing in Terminal City and knew they needed to talk to Max later in the day to find out what was really happening there from the Transgenic point of view, rather than just what the news had decided to report.

"Master Alec," Jarvis' voice broke through the almost relaxed atmosphere. "Master Alec, might I suggest that you take a break from your training?"

Alec looked confused for a moment and Steve who'd been training alongside him was the first to react. "Jarvis?"

"Captain, I believe Master Alec will be needing assistance at any moment as there is to be another attack," Jarvis warned.

Johnny reacted from the other side of the room where he was sparring with Mole. Instantly he ducked a blow from Mole, before swinging himself over the ropes and crossing the room to where Steve and Alec were now making their way to sit down. He frowned as he watched them, then suddenly as if aware of something on the edge of his consciousness, his flames burst to life. He seemed to dart a hand out as if catching something before going back to a state of ready vigilance as he watched over the area. He repeated the process again and again, each time Alec flinched away as if getting a sudden burst of pain. Gradually Johnny slowed down and then extinguished the flame, turning and saying, "I think it's over."

Alec had slumped against the wall, slipping almost to rest against Steve. Steve had turned, the urge to help warring with a sense of propriety that had him holding back. At Johnny's word, he moved, getting off the bench and instead guiding Alec to lie down on it. "It's going to be okay, Alec," he said quietly as the young man winced at the movement.

"What was that?" Johnny asked.

"We don't know, but every time it happens Alec has a hallucination," Mole said. "What could you see? What were you doing?"

"I -" Johnny stopped as if to think of a way to explain. "I could sense these little surges of energy . . . I just sort of brought them into the energy that is around me when . . . you know, I'm the Torch."

"Do you feel anything strange? Or can you see anyone that wasn't here before you did that?" Steve asked worriedly.

"No, just you three and myself here. Why? You think the energy surge has something to do with Alec's hallucinations?

"Alec," Steve said softly, "What did you feel when Johnny was doing that? Was it still getting through to you?"

Alec's voice was quiet and Steve pressed him back into lying down when he started to push himself upright, just encouraging him to answer the question. "It felt like something kept trying to connect to me but then something else would break the connection and I'd receive a small surge of energy, like a jolt of electricity pulling at me. It was like feeling the pain Ben was in for a fraction of a second and then he was gone again. I couldn't see him though and -" Alec cast his eyes around the room as if checking before he finished, "I can't see him now."

# # #

With Johnny and Steve gone, Sue and Tony were left in an awkward silence. They stood looking at one another for a moment or two before Tony turned away and picked up a screwdriver from the bench beside him. "I have been working on the latest suit or, well, I was before I got sidetracked trying to figure things out for the Transgenics." He winced at the lack of confidence in his own words. "I do a lot of stuff."

"Tony," Sue sounded just as uncomfortable. "I guess really we ought to talk about what it means if we're related and if we're suddenly going to get a whole heap of other siblings. I always thought I'd got my hands full with Johnny."

"He's a good kid underneath it all," Tony said. "I haven't always followed the straight and narrow, but I kind of turned out okay."

"Yeah, I guess you did and Johnny's not so bad when he's not showing off. Guess he's not always had it easy either. Money isn't everything."

Tony snorted, "No, it really isn't. So does it bother you being related to me?"

"No, Tony, it doesn't. I figure like with Johnny, I could do a lot worse than have you as my brother. I think you do a lot of good things that don't always get noticed and who hasn't made bad choices at some point."

"And Reed? What's he got to say about all this?"

"Us being related? He's not really concerned with that. To be honest he's more interested in finding out about the Transgenics and in discovering how closely linked to them Johnny and I are." She sighed and slumped down onto a stool nearby. "It's making home a bit of a warzone right now. He's too fascinated by the science . . . he doesn't mean any harm, but Johnny is so wound up in the injustice of what's been done that he can't forgive Reed for finding the science of it interesting and Reed . . . I love him, I do, but sometimes he just sees what he wants to see and forgets that we're talking about people. He's like it with Ben, when he tries to figure out why the rest of us get to change and change back and Ben doesn't. He isn't really callous."

Tony had put the screwdriver down and moved across to stand beside her. For a while he seemed at a loss as to what to say, then tried, "And you? How are you coping with that?"

"I'm angry at my Dad and yours, that they allowed this to happen. I'm irritated by Reed that he does see the people, but then he forgets about them and sees the science and I'm annoyed that I'm trapped in between and I can't fix anything. Then watching them throw those bombs inside the compound and it just became terrifying, like all these people who I've never met might die while I sit back knowing that my father is at least partly responsible for them being there." She looked up at Tony as if pleading for some solution from him.

"I know how you feel. I've got Steve and Bruce and they at least both feel the same way as I do. Steve and Clint had a few arguments early on but I think that's lack of understanding. Clint and Natasha have both been away for the last month on a mission, I'm pretty sure that when they get back, they would be every bit as appalled as we are. I don't know what Thor would think, he didn't seem to get why anyone would treat their soldiers that way, but I'm not sure how much he knew about the Transgenic aspect of it. He's a great believer in justice. If you and Johnny want to stay here for a while, we've got room."

"I - I don't know about Johnny, but for now, not me. I need to try and get Reed to understand. I can't just give up on him, he's not really a bad man . . . I keep trying to tell myself that about my father as well . . . and yours."

Tony pushed a pen Steve had left behind back and forth along the workbench beside him. "I'm not even thinking about them right now. We were going to tell Alec and Mole and try to explain, but with everything moving so fast I've put it off. I tried to get Alec to agree to move all of the Transgenics out of Terminal City and onto property that I would buy with Stark Industries' money . . . he couldn't see why I would do that if I didn't want to use them all for research or as a private army. Steve says he's going to help me put it to them again, try and convince them it's for the best but we thought if we started telling them about Howard then he's not going to believe that I want to do this for the right reasons."

"I guess not. I guess they don't have a whole lot of evidence that anyone outside themselves can be truly trusted."

"There's so much going on. . . I - the truth is I wasn't working on the suit before you came, I was trying to figure out how to get them out of Terminal City without anyone getting killed and how we'd hide the fact they'd gone for a while so that no one knew immediately how long they'd been missing. I thought I had time to figure this all out so that it was something that I could make work, something that I could do to get everything put right that Howard messed up, but if people are going to start throwing bombs over the barricades then I can't leave them there! It was bad enough knowing just how awful things were in there, but at least they were safe."

"Tony, can we help? Johnny and I definitely and you know, Reed and Ben would step up too. Faced with the reality of what was happening, Reed would deal with that and then come back to his fascination later. He'd do what needed to be done first."

"How do I get them out? The Transhumans most of all, it's not like I can sneak them out through the city!"

"How many are there? They don't call me the Invisible Woman for no reason at all . . . I could conceal some on the way out. Depending how much time we've got, I could make multiple journeys."

Tony looked at her stunned, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. A moment later, he said, "We can work with that. I'm sure we can work with that."

# # #

Alec wasn't quite sure what to make of his new companion. Unlike everyone else, he was much nearer to Alec's own age and he felt familiar, even though Alec knew they had never met before. In fact he reminded Alec a lot of how he himself used to be, back before Terminal City, before he got ill.

Alec watched his freedom of movement enviously and wished his own body didn't ache so much. He was just getting out of the shower after his time in the Gym and he looked down at the bruising on his skin. He was almost certain it wasn't his own, even though that didn't make sense. Every one of his bruises matched the pain that Ben was in but that shouldn't be possible, he knew that.

There was a rap on the door closely followed by Johnny asking, "You still alive in there? Mole says it's taking so long 'cause you're being a princess and doing your make up!"

Hurriedly, Alec pulled the long sleeved shirt over his head and smoothed it down, checking quickly in the mirror to make sure that none of the bruises could be seen. He could manage this on his own, he was already taking too much of everyone's time and attention and what was he giving in return - nothing. It wasn't right.

At least he'd been able to do something when he was back in Terminal City. He'd been useful there, working on the project to clear the still contaminated areas, offering Max support in the command center and here he did nothing.

Deliberately pushing the thoughts away, he pulled the door open and there was Johnny standing outside. Alec tried grinning, saying, "You're just jealous because neither of you have got my looks."

"I'm hot enough as I am," Johnny smirked in reply, clicking his fingers and letting a little burst of flame appear at the end.

Alec quirked an eyebrow and said, "That's just showing off!"

Johnny smiled. "I think I like you."

# # #

Sue and Johnny had stayed to eat lunch and when Jarvis suddenly interrupted the meal with another warning of an impending attack on Alec, Johnny was out of his seat, round the table, snapping little bursts of energy as Alec winced and flinched beside him. The attack went on longer and both Alec and Johnny looked drained when finally it petered out and all was peaceful again.

Johnny's immediate concern was for Alec. "Did it get through?" he asked worriedly as he dropped to kneel beside Alec.

"No, not much, just a little," Alec said wearily.

"How did you do that?" Tony demanded, his voice echoed by Sue asking what it was he was doing.

"I don't know exactly but I can sense little bolts of energy for want of a better word and if I snatch at them, I'm not sure whether they're just burnt out by my energy or whether they just melt into part of it."

"And what does it do to you? I mean, if you might be absorbing it, does that mean you're getting what Alec is supposed to see?"

"I'm not seeing anything or anyone that isn't sat right here and wasn't there before it happened."

Tony still looked wary, but turned his attention instead to Alec, "And you?"

"'M fine," Alec's words were slightly slurred.

"Doesn't sound like it. If he's burning out the energy, what's it doing to you? Describe it to me . . . I can't figure it out unless I understand what's happening," Tony insisted.

Steve caught Tony's eye with a warning glare and Tony backed off a little with the words, "Sorry, I just want to stop it and maybe with more information about what's happening with Johnny and to you, I could work it out."

Alec nodded, took a deep breath and pulled himself up straighter. "It's like the first edge of the connection reaches me but then Johnny burns it or pulls it out or something and it's like having something tugged out of your brain. You know it's a good thing, but that doesn't stop it hurting. I think he gets some before they reach me, but the ones that get through, I get just a glimpse of Ben and then he's gone." He didn't say that Ben seemed to be being hurt by it, that what little he did see, showed him Ben writhing in reaction to the surges. He didn't say that his own body hurt liked he'd been pulling against restraints. He was sure that if he were to roll back his sleeves there would be fresh livid marks around his wrists judging by the pained ache he could feel there, among other places.

He waited until the conversation around him began to stir again, attention slipping away from him before he allowed himself to slump again, exhaustion flooding back through him. His appetite had gone under the force of the attack but he managed to make himself eat a few more mouthfuls in the hope that the action would leave the others to talk around him and he could slip into the background of the conversation. What he really wanted was to just leave and have some peace, to try and think through what he had seen and what it meant. In a way he also wanted time to look properly at the bruises, to try and make sense of them. He supposed that if there were more of them now after this latest attack then he had his answer that he was connected in some way with Ben.

Without realizing it, his attention had slipped from the forced task of eating and he was just pushing the food aimlessly around the plate, unaware that his actions had caught the eye of two of his companions and that Bruce and Steve were currently trying to decide through a series of hand gestures which of them would be best to convince him to leave the table and lie down. Bruce took a last mouthful from his own plate and then quietly stood and moved around to Alec's side. Alec flinched as he realized someone had closed in on his own space, but on recognizing that it was Bruce, he let the tension bleed out again.

The conversation around the table seemed to falter as attention went to Alec, but then Steve quite deliberately and obviously stirred it back up with a question for Tony, snapping all eyes back to the two of them, except for Alec's and Bruce's as they quietly left the room.

Steve's questions left Tony to explain to everyone else how he and Jarvis were trying to track the attacks backwards to their source. As Jarvis too joined the conversation, he began to explain that actually Johnny's intervention was helping, because it meant the traceable energy source part of the attack was more prolonged, giving him a better chance of tracking it.

# # #

_He didn't know what was happening, but he was terrified. The only way this could lead was to more pain. He could only catch the briefest glimpses of 494 before something or someone got in the way, sending sharp shooting agony searing through the connection, the burning of intense heat, power surges that had him writhing in his restraints._

_From those short glimpses it didn't appear to be 494 who was the one sending the surges, if anything 494 looked every bit as panicked as he was feeling. He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing. Did it mean that 494 was under attack and he was feeling the backlash or was it he himself who was being attacked and 494 was getting the residual effect? He couldn't work it out, he couldn't think. Fear like he had never known before dulled his thinking, made him want to succumb to a panic that he knew would overwhelm and stop him figuring anything out._

_The surge of water receding and the push as he rose upward left him gasping, shivering in the frigid air._

"_I want results and you don't appear to be getting any!" Bitter words that chilled him further, a nail dragging at his skin. "You don't want to make me angry now, do you?"_

"_He's under attack. 494 is being hurt but his vision, his understanding . . . He - he - he doesn't know what's happening to him so I can't see." He could hear the fear in his own words, the utter terror at what he might be facing if she didn't like this news._

"_My sister died because 494 failed, because he was too feeble and pathetic to bring in 452 and Eyes Only. I intend to succeed where she failed, to rise where she fell and you . . . you're only hope is to get me the answers I want. I've had enough of this delay. I Want Answers or better yet, results. Nothing short of 494 and 452 being dead . . . do you understand what I'm saying?" She barely paused before she leaned in close to his ear and whispered menacingly, "Don't even think about provoking me . . . Death would not be what was in store for you. I have something far worse in mind!"_

_Her heels clacked away and he remained shivering in the dark._

# # #

Steve couldn't sleep, his mind playing over and over again what had happened with Alec and Johnny. There were other thoughts as well, worries that they were taking too long to get to the bottom of what was happening to Alec and that they were juggling too many balls at once. Something was going to go badly wrong.

The attacks on Terminal City were getting more frequent, more violent and both Alec and Mole had said they wanted to return. He and Tony had tried again to put forward Tony's idea of a Stark Industries' property in the wilds being used as a protected base for them all, Alec had again rejected the proposal although Mole surprisingly had been the one to actually appear to listen and be tempted by the offer. He'd put forward sensible questions, things they had never considered. To make the move, in Mole's opinion, not only did there need to be an exit plan, travel arrangements and a final destination, but they needed proof of how things would be better. Saying it would be wild, unpopulated clean land was fine but with winter approaching it wasn't like living off the land would be easy, any more than building the amount of reliable and storm worthy shelters that they would need. For the minute, food and medical supplies were the biggest problem in Terminal City. They already had shelter and they were using materials scavenged from other parts of the city as fuel and for repairs. They'd also managed to tap into a power and water supply so that they had limited electricity and clean water.

Steve knew it wasn't like Tony couldn't arrange for all of those things to be available on whatever site was chosen, but it was the time factor. Then Mole had asked about what Tony expected them to have the skills to produce, who was going to teach them and how was he going to explain the setting up of a new supply line. Again it wasn't that Pepper and Tony couldn't do it, but it needed time and money. Tony might be a billionaire on paper, he might have more money than anyone could ever expect to be able to spend, but none of that meant that he could access it at the drop of the hat, that it wasn't tied up in other investments or projects.

He and Tony had spent time talking to Pepper, who judging by the pile of proposals she had for them mustn't have slept in days. She'd found three likely sites, the most promising of which was already mostly owned by a foundation she'd set up in Tony's name several years ago. The site had been based over a mining facility. They had bought it when the mine closed intending to allow it to become an ecological improvement site, part of the Stark Industries' goal of making a greener future. It meant that there was already water and electricity to the site and some buildings, not enough and not really in the best state of repair for habitation, but all in all it was more than either of the other options could provide. The other advantage was that just recently neighboring sites had been put up for sale. It would enable them to extend the safe zone around the central site. Bizarrely it had been those same neighbors that had held up any green development on the site for so long, why it wasn't already a work in progress or even a finished goal. With the neighbors gone, there would be no one left to object to any development that Stark Industries might decide on. It would also give them more buildings at their disposal.

The other advantage was that the mines provided a safe retreat, a defensible position if there was ever to be an attack. It was still a matter that needed time, but Pepper and the lawyers were already in talks, pushing forward with an aggressive bid to make sure that they got the properties in question, even as Pepper worked with accountants to free up more cash flow to achieve the goal.

Taking over the new properties would also give them the excuse to ship materials and resources up to the sites for developments as soon as they got them. If they could just achieve that goal, it was another hurdle overcome, another step that they could use to convince Mole to listen.

"Captain Rogers, sir," Jarvis' voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes, Jarvis. What is it?"

"Master Alec is at risk and I cannot wake Master Mole . . . I believe he may be suffering under the influence of inebriation after he, Master Johnny and Master Tony were drinking earlier. I am sorry to disturb you and not to call Master Tony, only he has only just gone to sleep after another long conversation with Ms Potts dealing with paperwork and the finances required for the projects being undertaken. He needs to be up quite early tomorrow to go to meetings and as you were still awake and up . . ." Jarvis let the sentence hang.

"It's fine, Jarvis. Is Alec in his room?"

"He is currently asleep, although only lightly so. He has seemed very restless this evening. I believe another attack may be imminent."

Steve began to hurry through the corridors, letting himself into the suite that Mole and Alec shared before hurrying across to knock on the door to the room in which Alec sleeping. He rapped sharply before hurrying in. Alec was tossing on the bed.

He rushed to his side, doing his best to remain calm while shaking Alec awake. He frowned as Alec's agitated movements revealed bruising on his side as his long-sleeved t-shirt rode up as he twisted in the throes of whatever he was seeing.

"Alec! Alec!" he said urgently, "Wake up, wake up! You're safe, you're here."

Alec's eyes snapped open and he clutched at Steve's arms. "They're hurting him! He needs me to help him!" he gasped out. "I have to get him, have to stop it!"

With a groan, Alec pulled his hands away from Steve and clutched at his head. As Steve reached out for him, he brushed against one sleeve, making it slip further down Alec's arm and he saw the harsh bruising and the skin that was abraded as if Alec had been held in cuffs and pulling against the restraints. He pushed the questions that vision prompted away, and focused instead on finding out what he could about Ben. "Alec, Alec, calm down and talk to me. Look at me, you're here and I know they're hurting Ben, but I need you to be calm. I need you to tell me what you can see, anything you can see around Ben. We need you to help us find him. Tell me anything you can see." Steve tried to exude reassurance and calm, anything that might give Alec the chance to focus and glean information.

"It - it's dark, there's water and . . . and he's under the water. It's lit from beneath," Alec's voice was shaky, but there was a determination to it that Steve couldn't help but admire. "He's restrained, metal loops holding him in place . . . machines m-monitoring him."

"You're doing good, Alec," Steve said softly. "What else can you tell me?"

Alec shuddered, hands clutching again in Steve's direction as if he needed something, someone to ground him and Steve had no qualms about taking hold of his hands, gripping them firmly enough to make sure Alec knew he was not alone.

"The loops are cutting into his skin where he fights the restraints. He -he's in pain. Th-There's something under him, a pressure behind his head, his shoulders, his b-back - just slightly raised from the base of the tank he's in. He's being watched . ... I can't see. I can't see whoever it is - they're doing something to the machines." Alec let out a sudden cry and went rigid as if he'd been hit by a jolt of electricity. When he slumped forward a moment later, falling against Steve like a puppet with the strings cut, Steve found himself panicking as he looked for a pulse, relieved to find it fast, but strong.

"Jarvis, wake Bruce!"

"Yes Sir, immediately."

Alec twitched weakly and as gently as he could Steve lay him back down onto the bed, never letting go for a moment, merely transferring his hold carefully from one position to another until Alec was lying down and then he took hold of his hand again.

"No, it can't be!" Alec whispered. "She's dead. Renfro's dead."

Steve carefully pulled the blanket up trying to cocoon Alec in its warmth and slow the shivers that wracked his body. He began a quiet monotony of words, hoping to ground Alec and bring him back so that all he was seeing and feeling was their shared reality.

# # #

Bruce hurried into the room, the deep concern at being awoken by Jarvis clear. "How is he?" he asked urgently.

"He's . . ." Steve wasn't really sure what the answer to that should be. The shivers were gradually slowing, Alec was tracking him wearily and had pulled his hand back withdrawing into himself as if ashamed of the momentary weakness. Instead Steve said, "I think the attack's over. He's tired. Anything else, Alec?"

Alec shook his head, but another strong shiver wracked through him and Steve just looked at Bruce as if to say 'well that about sums it up'. Bruce came and sat down on the other side of the bed and said, "Be honest with me, Alec."

Alec's eyes dropped, but he quietly replied, "It doesn't hurt as much as it did and I'm not quite as cold." He still had the blankets pulled close around him. "I can't see him anymore."

Bruce nodded. "That's good," he said. "Let me check you over, just to be sure."

"I'm fine," Alec mumbled. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you both."

Steve frowned, then added, "No, you're not fine and disturbing us is not an issue. We want to help. Tell Bruce the rest."

When Alec just looked down, Steve could feel a burning anger inside; it was built of frustration that Alec still couldn't be honest with them and disdain for the people that had made Alec think he had to hide like this. Losing patience, he reached for Alec's nearer arm and tried to push his sleeve up. Alec pulled away violently, trying to push Steve away and backing himself up into Bruce's space unintentionally. Feeling the other man at his back and forgetting for the moment who was behind him and where he was as memories, fears and realities blurred, he lashed out. His feet kicked out, hitting Steve in the chest and pushing him viciously off the bed as one elbow came up and caught Bruce in the face.

Bruce stood and stepped away from the bed quickly, feeling the sudden rush of adrenaline and trying to clamp down on it, trying to convince the 'other guy' that he wasn't under attack, didn't need the protection. Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket he clutched it to his nose and stayed back from where Alec was now standing backed against the wall. He wasn't sure what the young man was seeing or what he was really hiding. Steve's actions had been a well-intentioned bad judgment call but Bruce had seen the raw skin, the welts that looked like they'd been caused by restraints and the accompanying bruising. Bruce knew Steve well enough that whatever reaction he'd expected it wouldn't have been this one, knew that the other man had been trying to do the right thing.

"It's okay, Alec," he mumbled round the handkerchief, "Everything's going to be okay. We're not going to hurt you."

He saw as Alec blinked repeatedly as if trying to clear his vision, trying to work out what was going on and he forced himself to stay where he was and to give Alec time, space, patience to get his bearings. Alec was shaking again and could barely hold himself up against the wall and Bruce could see bruises blooming before his eyes across Alec's skin. He knew without a shadow of doubt that nothing Alec has done warranted bruises like that.

"Sit down, Alec, before you fall," Bruce said gently, feeling relief as the diminishing pressure inside himself showed the 'other guy' responding. Hulk wanted to reach out and protect Alec, in the same way Bruce did, but he seemed to understand that this was something Bruce could handle better.

Alec seemed to slip sideways as if he was about to fall. He staggered a couple of steps before steadying again and Bruce was running out of ideas to get through to him. Suddenly he found himself sitting, on the floor, directly in front of Alec and the only thing he could think was that it was Hulk's doing. Hulk knew what intimidating was, but it was a surprise to find that he appeared to be learning that sometimes it paid to make oneself vulnerable. Bruce could feel his wary attention. He didn't need to be afraid that Alec would attack him, Hulk was watching out for him.

Alec's eyes were more or less on him, some of the panic diminishing, but not full understanding there yet. He heard Steve speak quietly to Jarvis, voice barely more than a whisper, "Jarvis, I thought the attack was over. Was I wrong?"

Bruce was relieved when Jarvis replied just as quietly, "I believed so too, sir. I suspect, however, that while the attack part of the issue may indeed be over, there is still a link in place, holding Master Alec to his counterpart. It is too faint for me to trace. I am sorry, sir. While the attack phase was underway I have managed to go some way towards locating its source, but not far enough to have precise information."

"Where?"

"Somewhere near the borders of North and South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. I apologize that I cannot be more precise at this time. I am aware that this is not sufficiently accurate information to provide a solution to the difficulties. I shall continue to monitor the area."

"Jarvis, you're doing well. But please, do keep searching. Anything you can find."

A thought nagged at Bruce's memory, suddenly falling into place as when he'd been invited to Manticore all those years ago. "Jarvis, did you say Wyoming?"

"Gillette," Alec whispered. "Gillette, Wyoming . . . Manticore."

# # #

Bruce had had no real answer to explain the bruising and abrasions but as Alec had finally stopped fighting sleep, Bruce had covered him over with the blankets and moved across to where Steve was sitting at the side of the room keeping watch over them both. Exhausted he dropped to sit alongside.

"I'm sorry," Steve said quietly.

"Seriously, Steve, you should know better than to think I would mind being woken for something like this."

"No, not that . . . I handled that badly. I don't know what made me grab him like that."

Bruce huffed a quiet laugh, then said, "You were angry."

"Not at him," Steve let his head drop back against the cushions on the couch and sighed. "Not at him," he said again, running a weary hand down his face.

"Maybe a little," Bruce said wryly. "Seriously that's one heck of bad development and he's trying to hide it from us. I mean I get it but how does he think that can end well?"

"You live in hope . . . I remember what it's like. I did stupid shit like that all the time," Steve said tiredly, "Living in hope that this time the cold wasn't going to turn to pneumonia, or trigger my asthma. Believing that this time, for once, I would be strong enough to get through it, and we wouldn't have to spend money we couldn't really spare on medicines to get rid of the same thing again. It's a horrible feeling knowing that you are a burden, feeling that everyone else would be better off without you."

"Burden is a very subjective word there, Steve," Bruce said softly. "Your family and friends wouldn't have wanted to be without you and Alec's friends, including us, feel the same way."

Steve's eyes flicked upward to meet Bruce's. "Knowing that is what people would say and believing they mean it are two very different things. And from this side, it's far easier to see and believe than it is when you're the one still struggling. What was at Gillette?" He changed the subject to avoid continuing a conversation that had no resolution. Steve knew what both sides of that fence felt like and while Bruce's words were true, he also knew that changing the mind of the person on the other side was far easier said than done.

"Gillette was where they asked me to go and work."

"They? You mean Manticore?"

Bruce nodded slowly, sighing. "I'll figure out its address, go through my papers and give the details to Jarvis to check on." He looked back at Alec, then added, "There are times when I wish I'd taken that job so that I knew what was happening. Maybe I could have stopped it, exposed what they were doing."

"I'm glad you didn't. From what Alec and Tony have said, if you'd tried doing that you'd be dead by now. Listen, you should go and get some rest. I'll stay here tonight so he's not alone and . . ."

"Only if you promise to lie down here and at least try to get some rest yourself," Bruce replied.

Steve nodded. "I'll get Jarvis to call you if we need you."

"Do that." Bruce picked a discarded blanket off of the floor, checked on Alec and deciding he was warm enough without the blanket, threw it in Steve's direction before heading for the door. "See you in the morning, all being well."

Steve settled more comfortably on the couch and pulled the blanket over himself. Before he closed his eyes, he spoke again, "Jarvis?"

"Sir."

"Are we missing something? Is there something we should have figured out by now and we haven't?"

"Not to my knowledge, sir. I would advise you if I believed there were information that you were overlooking."

"Yeah, I know," Steve said tiredly.

"Perhaps you should try to get some rest, sir, while all is quiet. I shall keep watch for you."

"Thanks, Jarvis."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Steve woke to the sound of Alec rolling over in the bed. He sat up and stretched. It wasn't the worst place he'd ever slept that was for sure and if anyone knew how to do 'luxury' it was Tony. Come to think of it, the couch was better than his bed back at SHIELD had been, but clearly his time in the Tower was softening him up and so he was glad to be able to stand and crack his back, stretching out the stiffness, before Alec woke, rather than walking around stiffly and looking like he really was as old as his birth certificate said.

He glanced down at his watch as Alec mumbled Max's name in his sleep. He was glad they'd made it through the rest of the night unscathed. Alec needed the rest.

"Captain Rogers," Jarvis' voice was quiet, centered just behind his head. "Another attack is imminent."

"Thank you, Jarvis," Steve sighed. It was his own fault for thinking they'd made it through the night, if he'd kept his thoughts on something else . . . Steve shook his head to clear his thoughts of such ridiculousness; he knew it wasn't true. He wondered given the strong link between Alec and Ben, if it were Ben, whether if they tried they could actually communicate properly, whether Alec could direct the communication between them rather than Ben having the power.

"Alec!" he moved to the side of the bed as he called. "Alec, there's another attack, but listen . . ."

"Max? Terminal City?" Alec said, already trying to clear the sleep from his eyes and push himself out of bed.

"What? No! No, on you! Ben! Listen to me though. I want you to try something. . . I want you to direct the things that pass between you. Send him images, thoughts . . . not giving away where you are or anything, just something that might prompt a reaction. I want you to try and take control."

"But . . . I - I don't know how to do that!"

"I know. I just want you to try. I know it might not work. I don't know what we can gain from it, but I need you to just try. Please."

Steve could tell that Alec was already aware of another presence in the room and trying to ignore it, when he finally gave a reluctant nod.

"If you can, try to find out more about what's happening there to him."

Alec gave another hesitant nod, then reached out for Steve's arm. "Don't leave me, don't let me hurt anyone if . . . if he gets control of me."

"I'm not going anywhere and I won't let you get hurt. We'll break this if -"

"Don't let me become like him," Alec insisted. "No matter what it takes."

# # #

By the time they were heading to the kitchen to join Tony, Bruce and Mole, Alec was steady on his feet, although Steve wasn't sure that it wasn't just determination that had him there. He was pale and tired but he'd done as Steve asked and had managed to find out a little from Ben. It seemed that the other X5 was being forced into the connection and had little control over what he was doing.

Alec had discovered that it was not the woman he had referred to as Renfro behind the mental attacks, but her sister who was intending to rise in her place, to use the X5s for her own ends, although it seemed that Ben didn't know exactly what her long term goal was beyond seeing Alec, Max and Eyes Only dead. It seemed she wanted vengeance against those three.

Alec's biggest concern seemed to be that Max was vulnerable, that any one of the other X5s who had been hit by the hallucinations could be driven to hurt or even kill her.

Ben hadn't been able to share with Alec much beyond a view through his eyes of what was around him and the things he remembered. It seemed that he was kept in the tank permanently, only rising above the water to give reports of 'his mission'. Neither of them seemed to know how he was over-riding his latest reindoctrination to change his interaction with Alec, but the one thing Ben had said, which reminded Steve very much of Alec, was that he didn't want to hurt Max.

In Steve's opinion, Max seemed to be the key. The loyalty and protective streak that came out when Ben and Alec thought of her seemed to be enough to overcome so many of their obstacles.

As they entered the kitchen, they were met with the sound of Tony laughing and Mole groaning. Bruce was smiling benevolently as he watched the two of them perform. Leaning forward, head in his hands, Mole tilted his head just a fraction, and opened one eye to look at Alec. "Oh, it's you . . . I think he tried to kill me," he said blandly. "How he's not dead himself, I don't know!"

Alec stiffened at Mole's first words, eyes flicking across to Tony warily. Tony was laughing, saying something about practice making perfect and clearly he was the better man.

"The more practiced alcoholic, perhaps," Steve said.

Tony continued to laugh as Mole groaned and told him to be quiet. Steve just poured a glass of water and passed it to Mole before setting about making breakfast.

"Sit down, Princess," Mole grumbled in Alec's direction. "You're brooding too loud and it's hurtin' my brain."

Alec took a step backwards, but didn't say a thing.

"Alec!" Mole barked his name out sharply making him jump. "Sit down! Geez, anyone would think you didn't trust anyone here."

Steve saw the embarrassed flush that swept up Alec's cheeks and tried to smooth things over quickly. "Alec, would you help?"

Alec nodded and hurried to his side, quickly following the instructions that Steve gave and losing himself in the tasks. Steve ignored the way Mole's eyes narrowed as he glared at Alec's back and just kept the conversation going on other matters. He imagined it must be hard to look at a friend who'd been a leader until recently and see them so shattered. Steve knew that inside Alec there was a steel core that would let him fight back, a determination that would see him on form and confident, cocky and sure of himself like Johnny, but before that could happen they needed to break the connection with Ben. Alec was only too aware that someone was trying to control him, trying to get him to break and hurt Max too and in a way he couldn't just stand up and fight.

By the time they'd eaten the breakfast, it seemed that the worst of Mole's hangover had passed and Alec had more of a healthy color to his cheeks. It seemed that the food had fortified him in more ways as he was the one to start the conversation about what he and Steve had attempted that morning by way of communicating with Ben. Mole had looked suspicious as if he didn't entirely believe the information they had gained from Ben, but he listened nonetheless and seemed pleased that Alec had at least tried to take control.

Tony had posed a few questions, some of which they'd been able to answer and others that Steve had told himself to remember, so that if they had the chance they could try it again. He'd almost forgotten about Jarvis' narrowing of possible locations until Bruce said, "If Alec had another attack this morning, was Jarvis able to confirm Gillette as the source?"

Steve realized he and Alec hadn't even thought to ask. "Jarvis? Were you able to track the source?"

"Sir, I have narrowed the location further, however, the site is listed as an abandoned military hospital. No records show it as in use or link it in any way to Manticore since 1999 when there is a reference to it having been a military training facility. Its use was changed in 2000 when it was redefined as a hospital until 2005 when it was abandoned completely."

"1999 was when Max's unit escaped. It was broken down and we were moved out to other facilities," Alec said quietly. "It wasn't considered secure enough and they didn't want any of the escapees to be tracked back to there and bring down any other authorities to see what they were doing. We . . . we were all . . ."

Mole sighed, "They shipped everyone out. It was a matter of days before the whole place was deserted." His look was one of sympathy as he watched Alec. "They were drugged and shackled . . . Don't ask where they got shackles small enough to fit them . . . They were chained not to each other but to the 'mistakes' amongst the Transhumans, the worst of our kind. Split up and delivered to new facilities. No love lost between his kind and mine back then, no reason for any of us to care if they were hurt or scared or just children. Convoys moved by night, separating their units into smaller and smaller groups before reforming them in new locations. Nothing and no one familiar and bonuses for anyone who was willing to excel at the expense of someone around them. . . You've found the place," he finished abruptly, clearly not willing to be drawn any further on what was now in the past. "Ideal place to start over and torture them some more."

# # #

"I want to put my proposition to you again," Tony said. "To all of you . . . Max and Joshua and whoever else you want involved. It's clearer, more details and I've started to address some of the things we spoke about before."

"When?" Mole asked.

"Well . . . I guess it's ten here, so that's a bit early to contact Max but -"

"She'll be up, probably and if not, it's important enough to get her up. How long do you need to get your 'proposition' ready to present? She can go get the others ready to listen to you."

"Um . . . an hour? I'll contact Pepper and we'll reschedule stuff and I'll get her here as well and . . . erm . . ."

"You're blathering now. Contact Max and we'll tell her. We'll talk to her alone to decide who else needs to be there," Mole said.

"Mole!" Alec snapped.

"No, you listen up! We're going to talk this through. We're going to listen. If he can come up with enough solutions, we consider it. If not, we disregard it. But we know, and you can't deny it, Terminal City is not the answer. We can't stay there forever and the people outside are getting more determined to annihilate us. This is not on your shoulders - it's on all of ours. We might choose to follow you and Max, but the reason we followed you was because you listened, you understood. She understood the world outside and you understood Manticore. Maybe you're not the one who can make this decision; maybe you're not the one with the experience this time, so I'm not listening to you alone."

"But . . ."

"If you have something valid to say after we've listened to the information, we'll hear you out," Mole said firmly.

Alec nodded, giving up the fight as Mole's words made sense. "Together," he agreed.

"Together," Mole confirmed, watching as the relief seemed to sweep through Alec.

# # #

It was quite a gathering by the time Tony ushered Pepper in. Mole and Alec were sitting talking quietly with friends back in Terminal City as they waited. Bruce and Steve were standing nearby chatting with Johnny and Sue. Introductions between Sue and Max had been awkward and the two women both seemed a little shaken by the sight of the other. Sue had been eager to move to the background, almost hiding behind Bruce and her brother as soon as she could politely get away from the introductions.

In Terminal City, Max and Joshua were accompanied by Gem, Adam, Luke, Pace, Kismet and Almond. They'd all already agreed that at the first sign of Adam having a hallucination, Kismet would take him away, despite his own reluctance to be there. It was something that Mole knew they hadn't considered at their end for Alec. Adam and Alec were compromised, any information they knew could be leaked unintentionally to the captive X5s. Steve offered to keep watch for Alec and that he would accompany him if an attack came during the discussion. Johnny had made the same offer saying that he would be able to stop the link to Alec so that there was no fear of him giving away anything.

It was a difficult decision to make, balancing the risk over the benefit of having Alec and Adam, the two most seasoned X5 soldiers in the group. They were the two most likely to be able to formulate plans for the Transgenics and coordinating their actions, knowing their strengths and weaknesses. In the end it was decided that the discussions would go ahead but no dates would be mentioned and no locations for the move, the focus would be on the how and the who would be involved.

Adam and Alec would leave once a decision had been made as to whether Tony's proposal would be accepted, and then dates and actual locations would be formalized by everyone else without the two of them having the details to reveal. It was the most viable arrangement they could come up with.

Pepper was the consummate professional, with everything prepared to show the positive benefits that were needed to make the area she had found suitable. She had listed what was there already, and what they would need for the future and how long it would take to get the area to be a true home for all of the Transgenics who wanted to live and work there. She had come up with a series of plans for how to develop the area, providing all the amenities the Transgenics would need to build themselves a real community. She'd also highlighted new tech that had not yet been assigned to any of the Stark Industries' current manufacturing establishments, which she suggested could be made by the Transgenics, although she was the first to admit that there would need to be some training involved for them to gain the appropriate manufacturing skills and she hadn't fully addressed that part of the problem.

It was Luke who said he didn't think it would be a problem. "Seriously," he said brightly, "you've got two options. The first provide us with the resources to teach ourselves, between us we're fairly intelligent and we've got a lot of skills to draw on, it's probably just a matter of honing the right ones and learning to use them in a different situation. Or the alternative would be to take some of the Xs, the 5s, 6s and 7s would mostly be fine to blend in. There are a few fours who could manage but they're a bit less reliable."

"How would other people feel about us providing some of you the chance to work outside but not everyone?"

"Let's be realistic," Mole said. "Some of us are never going to blend in. For the greater good, we know we're going to have to be 'out of sight', but that's for our benefit as much as everyone else's. The world ain't ready for our kind of attractive, so we rely on the ones they can bear to see . . . or more like, we rely on the ones they don't even notice. Then one day a few years down the line we point out that they've been out there among everyone without causing any damage and nobody noticed or cared while they were doing the right thing and then we prove that we've been living and working just on the fringes of their society and we're no threat."

"Is anyone a threat?" Bruce asked. "You said the X4s were less reliable. You've said before that the X5s that are seen in hallucinations were often ones who were . . ."

"Flawed," Mole said. "Yeah, there are some among us who are flawed. For the most part we know who and we can keep them under control. I don't know what we do about the Elite."

"We leave them behind," Alec said. "They're no use to us and what you're offering isn't what they want."

"Alec," Max cautioned.

He shrugged. "You know it's true. They won't raid and turn in their contributions to be shared, yet they expect their share of whatever the rest of us bring back. They won't work on Terminal City except to improve the areas they want to live in. They believe they are better than the rest of us. Let them figure out on their own that things aren't that easy."

Adam backed him up, "He's right. They're nothing but trouble. Ninety per cent of the problems here come back to them if you take out the general shortage of food and medical supplies. You can guarantee that whenever the patrols are breaking up fights, there's at least two of 'The Elite' involved. Half the problems we're having with the perimeter and the people outside are caused by the way 'The Elite' are going out into the city and deliberately damaging property and attacking people. The authorized raids are targeting buildings, out of the way, out of hours. We're trying to minimize damage to property and personnel. Not them."

"So you're suggesting we just leave them behind?"

Tony looked like he was about to interrupt, but Steve shook his head. He knew that it didn't matter what they thought about leaving these people they called 'The Elite' behind, the Transgenics knew them better. There was no benefit to setting themselves up a new society if they took with them people who were going to destroy it before they started.

"Elite, no good people," Joshua said, speaking for the first time since Pepper had put forward the proposals. "They don't want to live in same place as people like me."

And that was the crux of the matter. 'The Elite' and the Transhumans could not be in the same place. The greater good was what they were aiming for and that meant helping the most people. Steve knew that they could talk later, attempt to find something to offer the remaining people, but expecting them to fit in with the vision the majority shared was not going to work.

With all the proposals explained and all the questions that the Transgenics could think of asked and a few more details considered or marked for further investigation by Pepper and Tony, it was time for the Transgenics to be left alone to consider what they would do.

As the others made for the door, Johnny and Steve both paused, unsure. In the end, Johnny turned back to Alec and asked, "Do you want one of us to stay? You know, in case . . . not that we'd interfere or anything, just . . ."

"Yeah," Alec nodded, "Thanks."

Johnny looked at Steve, who smiled and waved Johnny towards the seat beside Alec. "Just remember," Steve said quietly, "it's their decision. Don't try to influence them, no matter what."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Sue walked with Max down the main street of the small village, pleased with what her sister and friends had achieved in such a short space of time. Things for the moment were going well for the Transgenics. Day by day, progress was clear on the houses and communal buildings in the village. They'd pulled together well, utilizing the skills that they'd picked up in Terminal City to improve their new home.

For the moment, they had chosen to all live together in the main village, Transhumans and X series alike, although there had already been a discussion about the smaller hamlet a short distance away. As Sue understood it, the long term plan was for those X series who wanted it to move down to the hamlet and to act as an added security buffer between 'the world at large' and the Transhumans. Once the Stark Industries' manufacturing was in place then the hamlet would act as the gateway through which everything they produced would be taken out for distribution. The X series who could most easily blend in with Ordinary humans would be able to work there accepting in goods from outside and arranging shipping for finished products. Transhumans and Xs who didn't feel that they could live with those risks would stay in the more protected village.

Tony had already installed some security to the perimeters of both sites, but he was working today to improve it further. The whole area was powered using Tony's arc reactor technology as a testament to his efforts to promote 'green energy' but it also meant that they were off the national power grid. That was a safeguard that no matter what happened in the future, they would have power for their housing and to keep up the security.

In fact, Tony also had some of the people working on building the factory they would need and the aim was to produce more of the arc reactor power sources that would then be rolled out, initially to all Stark Industries' properties and then offered to all of the charities and foundations supported by either Stark Industries or any of the other Avengers. They would be offered to schools, hospitals and other charitable organizations at discount rates and to individual users at a market value. They weren't going to be cheap for business or even individual users at the outset, but when balanced against the cost of an equivalent amount of power there would be savings with a promise that if the technology took off, early customers would get greater discounts in the future. It was all looking promising. Sue had to admit she was proud of her brother's part in it. It was getting easier to think of Tony as her brother the more she got to know him, although she didn't think she'd ever be as close to him as she was to Johnny.

It was still strange to think that she had gone from having one rather reckless younger brother, to two reckless brothers with huge hearts and a sister who made 'stubborn' look good. Max backed down from nothing and fought fiercely to protect her own. They were getting there with their own relationship, although Max wasn't like anyone else she'd ever known and still seemed to eye Sue with more than just a modicum of suspicion, pointedly referring to some of her X series team mates as her brothers and sisters as if to see what kind of reaction she'd get from Sue.

It wasn't like Sue begrudged her the family she'd built and it would take time before they had a real idea of who was related to her in the DNA sense. Not all of the Transgenics had agreed to have their DNA tested, but some had and Luke was keeping a database of those who were willing to share the information. With more of them falling into relationships and some of them being pregnant or already having had children, some kind of family tree could well become important to them all. For the moment, they were not pressuring those who chose not to have the test done, but Sue had heard Max say that at some point they were going to need to chart everyone's relationships. She had a feeling that she had interrupted Alec asking Bruce if it was a test that he could learn how to do and how to analyze. She figured it was another of his ideas to take responsibility on to themselves and to reassure the still suspicious among them that no one outside their group would have access to their DNA.

Sue liked Alec. In some respects she found him easier to get on with than Max, although she'd discovered he could be just as stubborn. On good days he reminded her of Johnny, with an easy sense of humor and a heart of gold. He'd do anything for anyone, including laying his life on the line. She still found it hard to believe that he'd gone in with the rest of them to pull 'his people' out of Terminal City. On a bad day, he was still hit thick and fast with hallucinations and bruises rose livid on his skin.

Yet he seemed better since they had moved out here than he had back in the Tower. She wasn't sure whether it was being surrounded by his own kind again or whether there was some other reason for it. He and Max argued constantly as she tried to get him to stop running himself ragged and to actually sit back and let the rest of them do things. Sue could see her point, but with Johnny and Steve almost attached to him most of the time, she knew better than to say anything, beyond offering light sympathy when Max bemoaned his inability to be sensible about what he could do. Max didn't know Steve and Johnny well enough, Sue reminded herself, to know that neither of them would let Alec push himself too far. Johnny would use banter and snark to get Alec to do what he wanted, while Steve, when pushed, would pull out the 'Captain America' card to bully him into doing what Steve said.

Sue knew they were heading up to the new Central Control for an argument and she wasn't sure how it was going to play out. She agreed with Max, she didn't want to be left behind anymore than Max did when the others left on their latest mission, particularly when they were taking both Alec and Adam with them.

They were going to shut down whatever was going on at the old Manticore site in Gillette, Wyoming. They were hoping to rescue the trapped X5s, although that posed a whole other range of risks. They faced a dilemma. All of the X5s who were being used for the projected hallucinations had been believed dead by the rest of their teams. The problems came when they considered the nature of some of those X5s. Alec's twin Ben was a prime example of the dilemma; he'd lost his mind and become a serial killer. Could they really afford to let him free now? Would he really come back to this community that they were building and be able to live here peacefully? They certainly couldn't risk him running loose and lost among 'normal' society. And he wasn't the only one. There were others who'd been violent, who'd seemed to relish the awful things they'd been made to do.

It was a question no one had really had any answers for. It was also part of the reason why she and Max were supposed to be left behind. The one shared goal of the X5s sending the hallucinations appeared to be to bring about Max's demise, so the general consensus was to keep Max safe and out of the way. Despite her own ability to infiltrate the site while invisible and help others to do so, Sue herself was also considered vulnerable to attack. Not all of the X5s had known Max personally, so there was the concern that Sue was too easily mistaken for Max and might be attacked in her place.

It hadn't been an issue at Terminal City. There had been no question about it being an 'all hands on deck' mission. Steve had convinced Nick Fury to put some of the SHIELD resources at their disposal. Even the helicarrier had been brought into use.

Terminal City had been under siege, day and night for two days when they'd acted. The perimeter wall had gone and an inner defense had been erected with all of the Transgenics moving behind that.

'The Elite' had run. They'd abandoned their area of Terminal City and fled on foot through the tunnels without a thought to their comrades. No one knew where and, in Alec's words, they had more important people to worry about.

The Avengers, SHIELD and the Fantastic Four had worked together to get the others out safely. Hulk, Ben, Tony and Thor had rampaged through the streets outside Terminal City doing as much damage to the attackers as they could. Ben and Hulk had caused havoc with the manpower, while Tony and Thor had streaked fire and lightening on their weaponry.

Alec had led Steve, Natasha and Clint through the tunnels into the City and then brought out as many of the X5s, 6s and 7s as they could, splitting into smaller and smaller groups to make their way through and out of Seattle where they would reassemble at various locations ready for pick up. She had worked with Mole and Johnny to assemble the Transhumans and get them out using her ability to shield them from sight. With the SHIELD helicarrier hovering silent and invisible overhead, she and Johnny had figured out a way to use his ability to fly and hers to shield them to get from the ground to the safety of the carrier. It had been exhausting and when on their last journey they had lifted Mole clear, the last of the Transhumans were finally safe and as they'd set down on the deck, she had staggered as they all came back into view, too tired to even keep her own feet. Mole had taken one look at her and swept her off her feet, settling her gently against his chest with a quiet thank you before turning to Johnny and saying, "You okay, Princess? Or do you need me to give you a lift too?"

Johnny had grinned back cheekily, staying on his feet and waving at Mole to lead the way, but Sue knew he was exhausted too. Johnny had collapsed down on to a chair beside the bed Mole had laid her on and he was snoring soundly before Mole had even managed to find a blanket to cover Sue with.

Mole had kicked Johnny, getting him to shift and change position so the snoring stopped but he didn't waken. "You alright in here or you want me to find you somewhere quieter?" he'd asked.

"'S okay. I think I could sleep through a storm anyway. Johnny's not going to wake me up." And that had been the last thing she remembered until they were out here in the middle of nowhere dropping off all the Transgenics that they'd been able to pick up en route. She hadn't budged, had been ordered by Bruce Banner to stay exactly where she was until they could drop her back home for some proper rest.

Reed had been with her the next time she woke, holding her hand as he waited for her eyes to open. "We're almost home," he'd said. "I - I wanted to wake you earlier but . . . they wouldn't let me. You need to know something. Johnny and Ben have decided to stay with the Transgenics on their new site for now, to help them get everything set up. We can go up and see them any time . . . I'm sorry Johnny wouldn't let me tell you before. . . He - he was quite forceful. He actually said he wasn't sure he wanted me to go up there, said they weren't a bunch of test subjects for me. I'm sorry, Sue. I'm sorry if that's all you thought they'd be. I mean, I can't deny being interested . . . but I'd never want to hurt anyone."

Tiredly she'd pushed herself up, leaning across to kiss her husband soundly for the first time in weeks. He wasn't a bad man, she'd said that so often in the past few weeks and at times it had sounded hollow even to her own ears, but here and now she knew it was the truth. Reed wasn't a bad man, he was just a little too interested in the Science, like Tony was a little too interested in robots and electronics and Johnny was a little too fixated on speed. No one was perfect after all.

# # #

So neither Max nor Sue was particularly pleased with the final plan for attacking Manticore, but as they were at least involved they gave up the arguing. And now here they were facing off against what they hoped would be the last obstacle to the Transgenics making a proper life for themselves.

Alec's team was the first line of attack, with stealth and speed on their side and a link to the held Transgenics. The Avengers, Fantastic Four and the rest of the Transgenic team were waiting for the signal before they started their own attack. Sue could see in Max's face that she hoped like hell they would get to raze this place to the ground before they had finished. Sue couldn't help but feel the same way.

Since Alec's attempts to communicate with Ben and his seeming success, some of the other affected X5s had tried to do the same. Adam and Charlie had achieved a similar bond. Steve who always looked for the best in whatever situation they were in, believed that it was a good sign, despite the fact that strengthening the bond had meant that Adam, like Alec, was suffering with livid bruising and pain that came as if from nowhere but really stemmed from what was happening to Charlie. Bond had tentatively made a connection with the X5 he was envisioning but Ruben hadn't even been willing to try, something the others had fully supported him on.

It left so many questions. What were they going to find inside? What were they going to do about it? Could they save those X5s being held?

Sue was worried, Ruben saw someone they called X5-522, someone they all described as violent and no one had been his friend or ally. Alec was seeing Ben, Max's team mate, who had turned into a serial killer. Going in and setting these people free, Sue wondered if that was wise. What exactly would they be unleashing? But Sue knew they couldn't leave them here either. So what other choice did they have?

She could tell that Max felt the same way. She'd been surprised when her sister had actually come to talk to her about it, to ask her advice. Not that she'd had any useful answers, but it was something, a start to building something between the two of them and for that she was grateful.

She listened to the communications, heard as the first team breached the compound undetected and headed for the buildings. Tony had scanned the area, using the data retrieved to isolate which of the buildings were the most likely to be the holding areas they needed. The Transgenics had tried to place what they remembered of the buildings and their uses from so many years ago. Mole and some of the older Transhumans had been more helpful as being older at the time, they all hoped that their memories were more accurate.

They'd decided on the most likely building and that was where the team was headed now. Alec and Adam were heading for one entrance, Pace and Bond for a second with Ruben and Kismet heading for the third. Sue knew Max had wanted Alec and Adam to be separated, to have someone with them who hadn't been having hallucinations but the team had been firm. Sue prayed that Alec didn't get hurt, she wasn't sure that Max would cope if he did.

She wasn't sure she really understood the relationship between Max and Alec. Alec gave all appearances of being a playboy, and yet, she had never seen anything that indicated he did anything more than flirt and boast. Max seemed to be doing everything in her power to be with Alec, but then when she was, she behaved more as if she were his mother, telling him off, making him eat his dinner and occasionally ruffling his hair or kissing his cheek.

She'd heard a rumor that the two of them lived together, along with the Transhuman called Joshua, but she wasn't entirely sure what went on behind closed doors and she wasn't confident that Max would appreciate her asking. She just hoped that they found a way to be happy together, because she couldn't help feeling that they were good for each other.

They were inside now, Sue heard, as they reported back. All three pairs in and moving deeper into the building. Everyone else was still concealed.

"Alec!" It was Kismet who broke the silence. Everyone else waited with baited breath, hoping they hadn't run into trouble. "We've got Ben!"

Sue saw as Max crouched under cover beside her, clenched her fists until her knuckles were white and closed her eyes. Without a word, for there was nothing she could usefully say at this point, she reached out and rested her hand over Max's, squeezing gently and hoping that Max understood the support she was trying to offer.

"Stand guard. We'll finish checking here and join you as soon as we can," Alec's voice was strong and determined. The leader he was supposed to be, Sue thought.

"We'll need the doctor before we can move him," Kismet said.

Sue knew they should have expected that, that in reality they had. It was one of the reasons Bruce was so far back behind the lines, they didn't want to risk Hulk getting angry and involved in the fight. They'd optimistically hoped that they would be able to free the held Transgenics and take them to him. It didn't sound like things were going to go that well.

Alec and Adam were the next to report back, saying that they had found some sort of control room. No one was there at the moment and from what they'd been able to make out of the machines, that was where the systems holding and monitoring the X5s were controlled from. "Can't just shut this down," Adam had said.

"No," Alec agreed. "We'll . . . let's find the others first."

Sue wondered what he had been about to say.

There was the sound of sudden movement and Alec ordering Adam to take cover, followed by a burst of gunfire. "He's down. All under control here," Alec had reported moments later.

Steve had broken the waiting team's silence. "Report, Team Leader. Is assistance needed?"

"No . . . it's all under control for now. But keep close watch for more activity outside this building. All seems quiet here." There was some muttering, not quite distinguishable over the radios before Alec spoke again. "Adam's going to switch clothes with the guard we've just taken down and stay here in the control room. It gives him more time to work on exactly what these machines are doing and what we'll need to do to get the others out of here. I'll keep searching."

Sue heard the slight hitch from Max as she barely held back an objection and Sue squeezed her hand again. Max turned towards Sue and her face showed clearly the pain of waiting and listening while a loved one was inside.

"Any other options to that?" Steve asked.

The replied no wasn't really a surprise and Sue knew that it made sense. It didn't stop any of them worrying though.

Tony spoke to Adam next, "Have you got the phone I gave you?" There was a pause while Adam said that he didn't have one, but Alec turned back from leaving to give him his. Step by step, Tony talked Adam through instructions to connect the phone into the computer system so that he and Jarvis could begin analyzing the data held. Jarvis worked swiftly to download as much of the system as he could through the connection, sifting the data as it came in and forwarding all the medical details he could find to the tablet that Bruce was sitting with further behind their safety lines.

As they talked and worked out what Adam could do to assist everyone else from there, beyond simply keeping watch, Alec had moved out and back into the corridors. While they had been distracted, Bond and Pace had found another room with two more of the captive Transgenics. Pace had remained with them, while Bond had then continued to search. Pace had begun to check them over, to see if he could work out what any of the tubes, tanks and machines did.

"Security patrol," Hawkeye had announced quietly from where he was concealed in a huge tree just inside the perimeter. "Five men, standard military issue weapons on view. Want me to take them out?"

"Not yet, Hawkeye," Steve said. "Just keep us informed and if it looks like they've noticed anything or they're heading for the others, let us know."

There was an exasperated sigh before Hawkeye added, "You take away all the fun."

"There'll be plenty of 'fun' before we've finished here," Steve admonished.

By the time Alec's team had finished their sweep of the building, they had found twelve Transgenics captive in tanks, although not all appeared to be in the same kind of tank from their reports. As Alec himself swept the last room, he said, "Two here. Can't be saved. I'm turning off the machines, I don't give a damn what they're supposed to be doing."

Steve and Max had both started to object telling Alec to wait, when Bruce spoke up, "Alec, are you with X5-310 and X5-902?"

Alec had faltered for a moment before he'd replied with an affirmative.

"Then this is what I want you to do," Bruce had said. "They won't feel any pain if you do it this way." There were tears in the eyes of many of the listeners, Sue was sure, herself included, as Bruce methodically talked Alec through how to turn off the machines. Nobody dared ask why Alec had come to that decision so quickly or why Bruce had agreed with him after looking at the reports Jarvis had sent to him.

A few moments later, Bruce spoke again, "Alec, what is your assessment now? Talk to Steve."

There was another long pause, then the sound of Alec clearing his throat before speaking to Steve. "We've swept the building. We have ten men all in need of medical attention before they can be moved and . . . and I don't know if we're going to be able to move some of them at all. The only guard so far has been the one Adam and I dealt with in the control room. Instructions, Sir?"

# # #

Everything began to move swiftly. The next wave of Transgenics broke the perimeter fence and headed inside the Manticore complex, splitting into groups and targeting the different buildings. Their objective was to take control, overpowering any people found and setting charges. Before they left today, there wouldn't be a wall left standing. Sue wondered if there was some sort of cathartic release to be had in putting an end to where your troubles began.

She could feel the tension in Max, still waiting beside her, awaiting Steve's orders as they listened to the feedback of the teams inside. Two teams were already setting charges in buildings that seemed clear of life so far. That was when the quiet was shattered. Sounds of gunfire echoed from the far side of the complex. Knowing it was what they had expected didn't seem to make it sit any easier in Sue's mind. This was different to anything she'd done before. She'd always been part of the defending force, never an attacker.

Max looked across at her, seemed to sense her sudden doubt and whispered, "They're never going to hurt me or mine again."

It was what she'd needed to hear. Max was right, these people had been mistreating and abusing their power over the Manticore Transgenics for years, decades and it had to stop. All thoughts of being an attacker dropped away and Sue found her focus and determination returning even stronger than before, glancing down the line to Steve, eager for him to give the order.

"Team Three, go!" Steve ordered a breath later and Sue saw as the final line of Transgenics, Avengers and the rest of her own team rose as one and began to run for the compound.

A sudden glimmer of thought had her casting a force field around them, shielding them all from sight. She knew she wouldn't be able to maintain it for long, once people started engaging the opposition and breaking into separate groups but while she could, it gave them a few seconds of advantage and looking at the weaponry the soldiers inside were carrying, every second was a plus.

Steve's shield left his hand swinging out in a broad arc, passing through her shield and into a surge of soldiers leaving one building. As it swooped in, they barely heard it before it took out the first two of them on its arc, prior to returning. Sue realized just in time she needed to drop the force field enough for it to get through. There was a look of terror on the men's faces as the soldiers caught a brief glimpse of the invaders closing in on them, just before they vanished again.

They brought up their weapons, firing and watching as the rounds smashed into the force field and fell short without hitting anything. Sue saw the terror in their faces as more of their number fell under the fire coming the other way.

The group spread further and Sue felt the edges of the force field begin to fray. "Right flank," she whispered urgently into her comms, "You're moving beyond the edge of my force field, expect more fire as you come into view."

She received an affirmative and then heard the sound of thrusters as Tony soared into action above the right flank, providing them with extra fire power.

Ben Grimm was the next, speaking directly to her, "Sue, I'm moving away on the left. Don't worry about me, it'll be fine. Keep your protection on the others, but I gotta teach some of these assholes a lesson."

She wanted to tell him no, tell him he had to stay where she could keep him safe, but she knew that wasn't possible, knew that they were fighting for people's lives every bit as much as they did when Victor or some other evil minded being attacked their city. This wasn't really any different.

Her brother was next, she felt him move like a pull inside her. They'd always been close, but unbelievably Tony's revelations about their situation had actually made them closer still. She was proud of her little brother, but it didn't stop her wanting to protect him keep him safe.

"Susie, you've got to let me go," she heard the teasing tone in his voice. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." It wasn't until he said it that she realized that without thinking about it, she'd reinforced the force field around him, making it impossible for him to leave. "Susie, come on, sis," he admonished and she dropped the field around him quickly.

She saw as his flames soared upward, fire bolts searing down into the oncoming groups of soldiers and scattering them, opening more of them up to the attacking force's fire. It was clear they didn't intend going down without a fight . . . and a fight was what the Transgenics were bringing to them without a shadow of a doubt.

The battles went on, the two forces spreading further and further apart, more and more soldiers appearing in defense. Was there no end to their numbers, Sue wondered. It was getting harder and harder to shield her companions, the left flank now drifting too far from her and forcing her to say aloud, "Left flank, I can't shield you any longer."

Max was still at her side, reaching to pull her to one side behind an overturned truck. "Sue, do you have to be inside your force field?" she demanded urgently.

Sue frowned, uncertain what she was meaning.

"Could you pulse your field around all three groups or more if we split further - not necessarily hiding us, but acting as a barrier to their fire? If you were up with Hawkeye, could you do that? So that randomly they can't get through - no pattern just blocking and letting each group have a respite in which more of their fire is making headway against those guys."

Sue thought about it quickly, before nodding cautiously and saying, "I'm not sure how long for, but yes and I could probably do that for longer than this. I'm not sure though, because I've never tried it before."

"It's a good idea, Max," Steve said over the comms. "Johnny? Tony? Can either of you give Sue a lift to join Hawkeye overhead?"

"ETA two minutes," Tony replied.

"I can do it now," Johnny said almost instantaneously. "On my way."

"Great. Johnny, we'll see you ASAP. Tony, you're fine, stick with what you're doing." Steve's instructions were clear and the team was able to respond quickly.

"Space cleared alongside me for Sue, Cap," announced Hawkeye who'd followed the conversation to that point without interrupting. "She'll have a good view from here over you all."

# # #

It took two and a half hours before they had finally begun to sway the tide in the soldiers guarding Manticore and throughout that time, Alec's team had held the building they were in, while simultaneously trying to work with Jarvis and Bruce to decommission the tanks and machinery in which Ben and the others were being held.

Outside Team Two had lost three Transgenics and Team Three two, several people were carrying injuries including Reed, Gem and Steve, but they were still battling for full control.

Inside Alec had sent some of the others to take control of holding the building secure, while he and Adam took responsibility for getting the captive Transgenics. Bruce had already warned them that he didn't think they were going to get them all out alive. From what Bruce and Jarvis had gleaned from their work on the databanks in the short time they'd been there, each of the captive Transgenics had been 'retrieved' dead or dying and put into a sort of stasis. Depending on what the damage had been some of them were not going to survive once taken off the machines, but others should be able to be brought out alive. Alec had been determined that he would be the one to terminate any who couldn't be saved. Adam had refused to join the others and had insisted on staying at his side, saying they would share the responsibility. The two of them had isolated their comms from everyone but Bruce and Jarvis so they didn't get sidetracked by what was going on outside, trusting their own team to hold the building or to let them know if anything changed. Neither of them wanted to have to kill their own kind, but they both knew that it was a necessity.

Jarvis suddenly interrupted the conversation, forcing them all to stop what they were doing. "Sirs . . . I believe I have pertinent information. It seems that the two Transgenics to whom you are referring are no longer alive. Perhaps the battle outside interrupted the power supply to this building, effecting their chambers. I believe they have passed without pain."

"What?" Alec demanded shocked.

"They are deceased, sirs. It is not necessary for you to discuss how best to put them out of their misery."

Alec's eyes narrowed suspiciously as Jarvis continued, "If I might direct you to the other Transgenics. I believe there may be some difficulty in moving them as they have been confined for so long. Dr Banner, would you agree with my assessment that for these individuals, it would be possible to remove them from the machinery without immediate risk of harm? I believe there may be longer term health issues that will need to be addressed but in the short term, their organs will be able to keep them alive and this will allow a speedier exit if we have already freed these people from their captivity."

Alec was relieved that Ben was on the list and that Bruce was quick to agree with Jarvis for three of the five designations that he had given and said to just give him a minute while he checked through the records that Jarvis had sent him for the other two. It gave them time to move through and to start working on the nearest person.

The Transgenic, X5-792 when they had got him out was unable to stand, pale and fragile, but they sat him in a chair and promised to come back for him as soon as they could. He gave them a nod of understanding before slumping backwards into the chair and closing his eyes.

By the time they had freed the second and had him sitting, eyes tracking them with difficulty, Bruce was confirming Jarvis' selection of the other two so Alec and Adam continued to work, freeing the trapped men one at a time. Alec was relieved when he and Adam lifted the fourth man from the tank. They were reaching the far end of the complex with only Ben left to find. There were no other Transgenics being held at this end of the building apart from him and the practice of having released four others made it easier for the two of them to work swiftly, raising Ben carefully and steadily detaching the tubes and electrodes until Alec could lean over and lift him out.

Ben clutched at Alec's shirt weakly. "You! What are you doing here?" he rasped.

"Getting you out," Alec said firmly.

Ben was shaking in the cold as Adam found a blanket to wrap him in. "Shouldn't be here. Protect Max."

"I'm gonna do that too, but first we're getting you out of here."

A violent shudder passed through Ben and he almost fell from the chair Alec had set him down on, but Alec caught him and propped him back upright again. "She wants Max, you too, but Max. . . You can't let her kill Max!" Ben's hand was grasping feebly at Alec's shirt again and Alec patted his hand awkwardly.

"Max is gonna be fine, better than fine once we get you out of here. You ready to move?"

Ben looked down at his legs, knowing there was no way he could stand let alone make his own way out. He didn't say a word, but Alec just talked over him, already hoisting him up with Adam's help; the two of them making for the door without waiting for Ben to say anything.

# # #

"Cap! Cap! I see hostiles exiting the rear of the far left building heading for a transport. Six men, all in the standard uniform round here and a woman, blonde hair, looks a bit like that Renfro woman in those photos we had."

"On it, Hawkeye. How much time do we have?"

Hawkeye muttered something that Steve couldn't make out and there was a pause. "Cap," Hawkeye spoke again, "Sue can send a force field to stop the vehicle exiting if you can get someone down there. I might be able to get them from here, but they're so close to the corner of the building that if I start they'll just move out of sight behind the building."

"Right. Okay, keep me informed, get Sue to put the force field down and we'll move down there."

"Done!" Hawkeye agreed.

Before Steve could give any further instructions both Johnny and Tony were announcing that they were in range of the target vehicle and before Steve had chance to give any direct orders there was a huge explosion as the two of them fired fire bolts and missiles at the vehicle obliterating it and its occupants instantly,

"Ha! Get that, bitch!" Tony said triumphantly, flying over to Johnny where the two of them high-fived before turning back to join the fray again.

# # #

The last of the Manticore guards were rounded up, not that there were many of them left. It almost reminded Steve of Hydra and how many of their agents would fight to the death rather than surrender or be taken captive. He had to make a decision on what to do with them. It didn't take long to figure that this was something he'd more than willingly pass off to Nick Fury - payback for all the times his team had been sent on 'easy jobs' and come back injured, or not been told the whole truth before they'd gone on a mission. He was absolutely certain that the last thing Director Fury would want was for him and his team to turn up with guards from Manticore and the Transgenics in tow and in view of the public eye. So far Steve had more than willingly kept everything out of the newspapers and off of the television and no one had worked out where the Transgenics had gone or who had helped them. The longer it stayed that way, the better. Or at least until the situation was safer for the Transgenics.

Steve called for Bruce to come forward once they knew the compound was safe and the two of them walked together into the building that Alec's team had held. They found five new Transgenics sitting wrapped in blankets, eyes heavy, skin pale beneath the livid bruising that covered so much of them. Only one of them seemed able to lift his head enough to allow his eyes to track their movement suspiciously. They were watched over by Pace and Ruben.

"It's okay, Ben," Ruben said, "They're on our side."

The silent Transgenic dropped his eyes for a moment before tilting his head just enough to keep watching them. When Ruben started forward as if to stop him, Steve caught his eye and shook his head; it wasn't like they'd earned Ben's trust and with everything he'd been through he had the right to be suspicious.

"Alec? Adam?" Steve asked.

Pace nodded to the door, "Checking on the other three. Hang on." Activating his comm unit, he said, "Kismet, can you come to the control room? The Captain and Doctor are here, they need taking to Alec and Adam."

Bruce moved closer to the five seated men as if contemplating starting to check them over, but before he could do anything there was the sound of hurried footsteps coming closer and Kismet soon appeared around the door. "Hey guys," he called cheerily. "You wanna come with me and I'll take you down to the others." As they hastened after him, he began to explain that the three remaining captives were in two neighboring rooms and that they'd managed to raise them from the water and one had responded to their attempts to talk to him, eyes opening and managing to give a series of yes or no answers to questions, not by speaking but by signaling with his hand. Neither of the others had responded to anything as yet.

As they entered the first room, Kismet pointed towards the tank that Alec was leaning over, saying that was the captive who'd been able to respond. Steve was horrified at the thought this was how they had all been kept, a darkened room, bare of all furnishings except the tank in which they lay and the machinery to which they were connected, and cold, so cold.

Bruce was already examining the X5 and the machinery, carefully detaching two of the wires and giving instructions to the others in the room. "I need blankets, plenty of blankets. Lay some down on the floor, then we're going to carefully lift him out and lay him there." He looked round, "Steve, we need the medics, these guys are going to need more than we can give them."

Steve nodded and stepped away. He'd already made arrangements with SHIELD. They were there, concealed and not taking part in the fray, but Steve and the others had known all along that if they managed to rescue the captive X5s, they were going to need better medical facilities than they had access to, and there was no way they could take them to any normal hospital. They needed protecting and while Steve did not entirely trust SHIELD, they were the best option he had available in the short term.

He heard the confirmation of the team of medics heading their way and that they were being escorted by Tony, Johnny, Sue and Max. He guiltily felt thankful that Reed was injured enough to still be waylaid by another team of medics, and so he wouldn't be there to open his mouth and say something scientifically interesting but totally inappropriate when faced with the victims of these tortures. There was a part of him that understood Reed's perspective, but he couldn't condone it.

As he turned back, he saw that the X5 had been lifted clear of the tank and was now wrapped in blankets and lying back supported by Adam, who was murmuring reassurances in his ear. Alec stepped closer to Steve and said softly, "They were team mates, they escaped Manticore together. His name was Corin. He was there for Adam when his brother died. Adam was cut up when he saw Corin gunned down by White's men. Adam will get him through this."

Steve reached a hand out to squeeze Alec's shoulder in support and encouragement. He was struck again by just how much the Transgenics had overcome. They had been bred to be the worst of mankind, brought up to fight for survival and to care about nothing. Yet despite everything they had faced, everything they'd had no chance to learn, they had discovered for themselves the true meaning of friendship and teamwork. Steve was determined that they should get the lives they had deserved all along.


	24. Epilogue

**Chapter 24**

**Epilogue**

Ben slipped out of the house, skirting the edge of the village. It wasn't like he wasn't allowed out, it was just . . . He couldn't really put his finger on the problem exactly, maybe it was being in proximity to so many people who cared about him that he found unnerving.

He had spent so many years alone, searching for answers, trying to find a place to belong and he never had. Then he'd been recaptured, if it could even be called that and taken back to Manticore, reindoctrinated so that he would do their bidding, his memories taken until he hadn't even known who he was.

It was the sight of Max, through 494's eyes, that had been the trigger for beginning to break through all the programming. He was glad of it, though he found it hard to forgive himself for what had been.

He didn't know how Max and Alec could even bear to look at him, let alone as today invite him for dinner, but he didn't know how to say no. In truth, he didn't want to say no. He wanted to belong somewhere. He clenched his fists at the contradiction of wanting to belong and not being happy with the proximity of so many other people.

There were days when he had to try so hard to be civil and to treat other people, in particular the Transhumans, with what Max called respect. He knew it angered the two of them, her and Alec, when he spoke disparagingly about the people they thought of as friends, but there were mornings when he woke up and all he could remember was the years he'd spent at Manticore terrified of what the 'nomalies would do to him.

He slid into the forest, disappearing between the trees and thinking how easy it would be just to walk and keep on walking until he came out of the other side of the forest and to run . . . Would everyone be safer if he did that? He didn't think so. He was afraid to think of what he would do if he was alone again now.

The village was mostly the lower X-series now and the 'nomalies. He was one of the few remaining X5s. The others, along with many of the X6 and 7s, had spread out into neighboring hamlets. It served them all well, firmly placing the idea that these hamlets were now inhabited by 'green workers' for Stark Industries and provided a gateway into the complex and an added protection against anyone finding out who was inside.

Ben shuddered at the thought of what that would do to their neighbors a little further afield. As it was they were able to make sure that all deliveries to the main village came through the smaller hamlets and were ferried up to the main site by their own kind. Thanks to Tony Stark, it appeared a reasonable way to behave in order to protect the patents on the goods they were manufacturing.

He saw a bank of wild flowers growing and stopped to look at them. The decision came to him slowly and he bent down and began to pick the flowers, gently, careful not to bend the stem higher, or damage the flowers. He felt foolish but in one of the programs he and Joshua had watched on the TV, he had seen a man take flowers and a bottle of wine when he went to dinner with someone else. He couldn't get the wine, but at least the flowers he could do.

He hurried between the trees, sure of his steps and not wanting to be too late and make them worry that he wasn't coming, that something else was wrong. As he reached the gate, he saw several cars parked outside, expensive ones if he was any judge at all and wondered. He made his way up the pathway and rapped on the door. Scant moments later, Alec opened the door laughing and welcoming him in, already calling over his shoulder to Max that he had arrived 'at last!' "For me, dude?" he teased at the sight of the flowers in Ben's hand.

Ben wished he could be so free, so easy, wished he could lay the ghosts of the past to rest as Alec seemed to have done . . . then again perhaps Alec had never murdered anyone through his own volition, maybe he could honestly say that everything he'd done was down to Manticore. He pushed the thoughts away, he couldn't hold his own past against Alec; not when he'd done so much to hurt Alec albeit unintentionally. Joshua had told him about Alec being arrested for his crimes and he knew that Alec had suffered due to the hallucinations he'd caused, even though he'd had no choice in that.

He looked at him and tried to think 'brother'. There was only himself and Max of their original team and he knew he needed to accept that she would never be his, no matter how much he had always loved her. She was Alec's and he wanted that for her. He wanted her to have the unbroken version of himself, the man he had wanted to be.

"For Max," Ben muttered quietly. "There are a lot of cars outside."

"Yeah, almost everyone who helped us escape has 'popped' in to see us today. It'll be a chance for you to get to know them." He'd slung an arm round Ben's shoulder and was guiding him into the house he now lived in with Max. Ben had the feeling Alec knew he wanted to escape, to run all the way back up to his own house which he shared with Joshua, but that wasn't going to be possible.

He let Alec guide him through the house and into the garden at the rear where there just seemed to be a mass of bodies, split into groups here and there, all of them drinking and eating and talking and laughing. Ben looked at Alec, unable to hide the panic from his eyes.

"It's okay, but you know something . . . you can't hide in that house forever, only coming out to work," Alec said quietly, standing in front of him to block his view of everyone. "I know this is a lot of people, but it . . . they needed you to be here, like the others who were with you are here. Now I promise you, I'll stick to you like glue or chewing gum on new shoes! And if you've had enough of me, Max will do the same. We get it, Ben, but you're our family, both sides, hers and mine, and we're here for you."

"But what about all the . . ."

"The things you did? We've all got things in our past, Ben, even most of the Ordinaries. You might be surprised and okay, yours and mine might be a bit worse than most, but," he looked his brother in the eyes, "we've got to take the chance we've been given to be something better than we were, something better than they made us to be. This is your chance, Ben. Take it."

With that Alec turned and led them into the crowd, where they moved from group to group, Ben helping Alec top up glasses and offer more food round to the guests, never more than a step or two away from his brother. He watched the people interact, listened into their conversations and gradually as time went on, he began to relax a little and join in, moving on quickly before the conversation went to deep.

He saw Johnny Storm and Steve Rogers, stunned by the similarity, until Max who'd been with him at the time had explained about Tony's and Johnny's fathers' involvement in the early stages of Manticore and how they had used Steve's DNA without his knowledge years after he'd been thought dead. She took him over to meet Tony, introducing him as another brother and Ben had watched as Tony threw his head back and laughed, catching Max's shoulder and pulling her closer calling her baby sister. Max had smiled back sweetly, just before jabbing him in the stomach with her elbow until he let her go. "And Susan, Johnny's sister, is our sister too. They have the same mother, whereas Sue, Tony and I have the same father."

"But they're not Transgenics?" Ben had asked.

"No, I mean Bruce, Dr Banner, he said that Sue and Johnny's DNA was altered but not enough to make them Transgenic and that what had happened to them since is why they are different."

"How can you be friends with these people whose fathers did . . . did all that they did to make us, to create us into what we were?"

Max had held him close. "Ben, they freed us from Terminal City and you from Manticore. They've helped us build a home that's safe and protected, where we can work and live and make our own society . . . Nothing that we do is forced, we choose now. They are not their fathers but what they are trying to do is make up for what their fathers did. How can we not have them as friends?"

"And Alec's okay with this?" Ben had learned that Alec and Max were considered the leaders of the Transgenic Nation. He'd also discovered that they didn't always agree with each other and would argue things out until they either found a compromise or until one managed to convince the other they were right. 'Volatile' Mole had called them, but he seemed to say it with a great deal of affection.

"Yeah, he is. We all are. They are not to blame and really we owe them a lot for how much they have done for us. It's why days like this are so important to us all. Eventually some of us are going to have to make our way in the world beyond here and these are the people who will most help us. These people are our key to fitting in in the world outside and getting the rest of the world to accept us all. And, you never know, those days might be closer than we expected."

* * *

**_Author's Note : _**_And so this is the end of the story (all 130,000 and some odd words of it). Thank you to everyone who has commented and offered support along the way. Your encouragement has been very much appreciated. _


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